Folded Paper Love
by cloudgirl9
Summary: A new agent with the same appreciation for books as Abe enters the team. Abe/OFC
1. Chapter 1

Character Bio: (sorry I always do this, it just helps me set up for the story mentally)

Name: Adriana Cross

Species: Human

Age: 27

Power: Papermaster (Extreme control over paper, can create paper weapons and shields)

Story:

I walked into the strange building with Agent Meyers. He'd told me that it was a place for people with special abilities, and our job was a sort of supernatural pest control. I was very eager to meet people like me, since I'd been treated as a freak my whole life. After discovering my power as a child, my parents were amazed but scared. Scared both of me and of what other people would do to me if anyone ever found out. They made me promise to never use my powers again, but I secretly trained and practiced until I completely mastered it. I'd been discovered by the FBI after defending myself from a group mugging in a bad part of NYC. The symbol on the floor beneath us began to move. We descended into a large area composed of mainly concrete and continued down to a floor that said '51' on the wall. Through the golden doors was a library. I gasped. I loved libraries!

"This is amazing!" I ran my hands along some of the spines on the shelves.

A voice came from a large tank, "Would you mind turning the pages, please?"

Turning, I came face to face with what I had read to be an Icthyo Sapien. My face was a mixture of awe and interest. I had always wanted to meet one, but believed that they were all currently extinct. "Certainly!" I replied, and with a wave of my hand, all four books' pages turned. The Ithyca Sapien put its hand against the glass.

"I take it that that is the reason you are here to join us?"

"Indeed it is. My name is Adriana Cross, and yours?"

"Abraham Sapien, please call me Abe, Ms. Cross."

"Only if you call me Adriana." I smiled, tucking some of my short blonde hair behind my ear.

"Very well, Adriana."

"I'll see you later Abe!" Agent Meyers and I continued through the library and down the hall to a meeting room where I was to meet my new boss. The minute he walked in the door, I sensed a vibe of fear and superiority. He obviously did _not_ respect us freaks.

"Hello Ms. Cross, I am Agent Manning. I am the one in charge here. We are glad to have you join us."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Manning" I tried to hide the disdain in my voice.

"Agent Meyers will show you to your room, and then you will meet the other agents."

I grabbed my duffel bag off the floor and followed Meyers down the hall to a medium sized bedroom with a bathroom. Setting my duffel bag next to the door, I jumped onto the bed. It was fluffy, and I liked it. I would need to install some bookcases so that I could empty my duffel bag of books. All my clothes were in my backpack. Meyers knocked on my door and motioned for me to come out. I'd already met Abe, so he took me to meet Hellboy and Liz. We walked down the hall to a large metal door.

He knocked and shouted, "Hey Red! We got a new agent you gotta meet! And if Liz is in there with you she needs to come out too!" The door opened and a multitude of cats nearly spilled out. A large demon walked out. He was about six foot five. He looked just as I'd imagined him. Liz came out as well, and greeted me.

"I'm Liz, this here is Hellboy."

"You can call me whatever ya like though." He added gruffly.

"I'm Adriana Cross; it's a pleasure to meet you both." I smiled.

"So what's your power?" Liz asked leaning forward.

"Do you have some paper? Then I can show you."

"I think so…" she went back in and I heard some rustling and a crash, "All I've got are post-its, that ok?"

"Sure!"

She brought them out and handed them over. I pulled off a few and gave the rest back. Throwing them into the air, I waved my hands over them and they solidified into a small bird which began flying around following my hand.

"That's so cool!" Liz smiled.

Hellboy grunted in agreement.

"I read both of your files, so I know your abilities."

Agent Meyers interrupted, "It's about time for dinner, so we should head to the kitchen."

I said goodbye to Liz and Hellboy and followed Meyers to the kitchen. Just before arriving, the smell of spaghetti caught my attention. I _loved_ spaghetti! This had turned out to be a rather good day considering what I was now a part of. After a delicious dinner I bid Meyers farewell and went straight to the library. Upon entering, a voice came from the tank, "Good Evening, Adriana."

"Hello Abe, I hope you don't mind me joining you?"

"Of course not! Reading is one of the greatest pleasures in the world."

"That it is…" I said dreamily, looking for the perfect book to read this evening. The library was filled with all sorts of books. I found a rather large section on mythical creatures and paranormal abilities. I grabbed a thick book on all the documented abilities possessed by humans. Sitting on one of the couches, I flipped to the index. Now that I had the resources, I wanted to know all about my abilities. Finally I reached a page about the controlling of paper. 'Paper controlling abilities first appeared in classical China with the invention of paper. Of all the abilities in this book, it is by far the rarest. The ability does not discriminate amongst nationalities, nor is it passed biologically. All of the documented papermasters seem to have been selected randomly to posses the power. Those who do have this power tend to become obsessed with books and learning. This also helped to protect them from prosecution, because if attacked, they could use a book's paper to defend themselves.' _Very interesting…_ I thought.

"Indeed it is." Abe said breaking the silence.

"Huh?"

"Pardon the intrusion, but I can sense what you are thinking. When you were reading, I heard it in your mind."

"That's interesting too. What all can you do?"

"As you can see, I have gills and prefer to be underwater. I also posses the ability to see things about a person or thing by touching it or being very near to it."

"Cool! All I can do is mess around with paper."

"I find what you do to be quite intriguing, Adriana."

"That's certainly rare."

"I find it hard to imagine anyone disliking your abilities."

"You should meet the kids I went to school with…"

A memory played through my mind. Art class, one of my favorites, was going normally. Suddenly a paint bucket flew through the air towards me. I summoned a bunch of paper to block it, but everyone saw. The boy who'd thrown the paint shouted 'Freak!' and proceeded to throw more paint at me. The teacher was too scared of what I'd just done to take any action and I was chased down the hall with paints being flung at me by my classmates.

I sighed, the memory stinging.

"I see…" he said quietly.

The only thing that usually comforted me after such a memory lapse was using my powers. I waved my hand and a few papers from a desk nearby folded into little birds that flew about the room occasionally landing to inspect books. One landed on a book stand by Abe's tank. He smiled. I blushed ever so slightly.

"This is the side that those children never saw. This is what makes your power amazing, Adriana."

"Thanks Abe." I smiled at him.

"Anytime." He smiled back.

I yawned and looked at my watch. _Another hour or two of reading shouldn't do me any harm…_ I gathered up a large stack of books and settled onto a couch to read. Every few minutes Abe would tap on the glass and I would turn the pages of his books for him. I don't know when I fell asleep, but when I awoke, a blanket had been spread over me. The corners were still wet. I smiled to myself and snuggled into the couch in the now dark library. _Thanks Abe…_ I thought to myself, knowing that if he was awake he'd hear me.

A quiet voice came from the tank, "You're welcome, Adriana."


	2. Chapter 2

I yawned and sat up, realizing I was still in the library. Rubbing my eyes I noticed a cup of steaming coffee on the table next to me. I quickly downed it and felt much better.

"Its good to see you are awake." Abe said, walking down the stairs and taking a seat across from me.

"Thanks for the coffee, Abe." I smiled and yawned again.

"You are most certainly welcome. Thank you for your assistance with the book pages last night."

"No problem," I stood up, "I'm going to go shower, I'll see you later ok?"

"I'm looking forward to it already." He replied with enthusiasm.

I giggled and exited towards my room. Once in my room I thought to myself, _Abe is such a gentleman!_ I took a quick shower and then dumped out the contents of my backpack on my still unused bed. Searching through the pile of rumpled clothes, I grabbed underwear, jeans and a tank top. After a few minutes of wandering, I found the kitchen. The cook was making heaps of pancakes that I assumed were for Hellboy. Opening the fridge, I grabbed some bread and jam. I toasted the bread and spread the raspberry jam on top. I sat and read whilst chomping away on my toast. After I was finished, I grabbed the milk from the fridge. That was when I noticed a small Tupperware container with a post-it marked 'Abe'. Upon inspection I recoiled from the smell of rotten eggs. _Whatever floats your boat I suppose…?_ I thought, returning the tuppie to its place. Downing my milk, I departed for the Library.

"Hey Abe?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know where the training room is?"

"I'm not good with directions, but I can show you. Just give me a moment."

I blushed at his courtesy and waited. He walked down the stairs and motioned for me to follow him. Grabbing a large stack of blank paper from a desk, I followed. We took many turns and eventually came upon a large gym with mats on the floor.

"Thanks Abe! You'll have to draw me a map of this place some time or I'll always be lost."

"I'll see to that. If you'll excuse me, I need to find some breakfast."

"See you later."

He left and I set the pile of paper down. Taking off my shoes and socks, I walked to the center of the room. Closing my eyes and concentrating, the papers began to float around me. I lifted my hands and the papers froze in mid-air. Twirling my right wrist, a sword formed out of paper, but as sharp as diamond. Waving my left hand, a monster-like creature formed of the remaining paper. I readied my sword and charged, jumping off of paper steps that I'd made. Loose paper cut at the monster and with a final stab in the head, it collapsed and I stepped back down. Sighing, I broke my sword back into paper and organized it all into a neat pile. Closing my eyes once more, the papers began to attach to my back forming gigantic wings. I opened my eyes and examined them. _Ok, got that part down, now to see if I can make them fly._ Jumping, I flapped my wings and glided across the 200ft long gym. _This is cool, but to be safe I think I'll just surf._ I thought, collapsing my wings and forming a small board which I then stood on. Darting about the gym on the board, I concentrated on my balance.

"That's pretty darn cool, Adriana!" Liz shouted from the doorway.

I was startled and lost my balance. Falling from only about 7 feet up, I smacked into a mat lying against a wall. "God damn it…" I muttered.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry I startled you! Are you ok?" Liz rushed over and helped me up.

"Yeah, it's ok. I still haven't got that completely mastered yet."

"Like I said though, it's pretty cool."

"How long have you been watching?"

"Oh about as long as Abe has."

"Huh?"

"Abe's been watching the whole time." She jerked her thumb towards the door.

"He's not there, Liz." I said, bewildered.

She spun around, "What? He was really worried when you fell, I thought he was going to run and catch you…"

I blushed, "R-really?"

She noticed my blushing, "Oooh, Adriana has a wittle crush on wittle Abe!"

I blushed more, "I do not!"

"Oh yes you do!"

"Shhhh! don't shout! This gym echoes like crazy!"

"Well if we can't talk about it here, we'll go to your room." She dragged me by my arm until we got to my room. Plopping me down on the bed, she stood over me. "Ok, now spit it out."

"He's just so nice and gentlemanlike and he loves books and he's just all around amazing…" I sighed dreamily.

"Man, you've got it worse than I thought." Liz laughed.

"Oh shush, you." I playfully slapped her arm.

"His appearance doesn't bother you at all?"

"He's beautiful! I've never seen anything like him in my life!"

"You really do like him a lot, hon."

"I don't wanna talk about it." I grabbed my pillow and held it tightly.

"Well then… what do you want to do instead?"

"What is there to do here besides train and read?"

"We could go to the game room!"

"There's a game room?"

"Follow me!"

We walked through a bunch of hallways before reaching a nice sized room with arcade games and a TV with all sorts of consoles.

"I bet I can beat you at Mario Kart on the Wii!" I jumped onto the couch in front of the TV.

"I bet you can't!"

We played for about an hour and a half before the mission lights started going off.

When we got to the meeting room, Mr. Manning was waiting to brief us, "We've got reported sightings of a Kelpie in the woods next to a lake in Ireland. It has since claimed two victims, one adult and one child. We will track it down and kill it."

I interrupted, "Why couldn't we tame it and give it to a farmer in the area? Once tamed, Kelpies can work much harder than a normal horse in the field."

"I am in charge. This is _my _decision, Ms. Cross. Please do not interrupt me." Mr. Manning said sternly.

I grumbled and sat back in my chair.

"I thought yours was a good idea… its more humane." Liz whispered to me.

I smiled at her and shrugged.

Boarding our plane, I tripped, weighed down by my briefcase of paper and bag of books to read, I was off balance. An arm reached around my waist and kept me from falling. I'd already put up my arms and closed my eyes, bracing for impact. When I opened them, I blushed at realizing that Abe had caught me. His cheeks were tinted a slight purple color. "Thanks." I whispered, blushing even more before hurrying onto the plane with my things. Liz dragged me to the back and made HB make sure everyone else stayed in front.

"Well that was interesting." She said giggling.

I was beet red, "Shhhh!"

"See? He's concerned for your safety!"

"He just caught me because he was the only one in a position to do so."

"Yeah, because I was right next to you and _totally_ not able to catch you…"

"Whatever, Liz…" I grabbed a book from my bag and soon became lost in an old favorite, Pride and Prejudice. The remainder of the flight was spent in silence. Liz fell asleep on my shoulder and after finishing my book I looked out the window and daydreamed. _I wonder if he can hear my thoughts from this distance…_ I concentrated hard. _Hey Abe, cough if you can hear this._ I waited a moment before hearing a very small cough come from the front of the plane. I thought to him, _just seeing how far away I can go before you can't hear me…_

My mind raced through a chain of thoughts that I hoped to god Abe wouldn't hear; _if he can hear me at the back of the plane then he heard what Liz and I were talking about back here and then he might know! Crap!_

We landed and boarded a boat that was to take us across the lake to the forest where the sightings and disappearances were. Mr. Manning split the four of us into groups. Liz went with HB, I went with Abe. One message played through my mind; _don't think about it._

After about 10 minutes of silent searching, Abe piped up, "Pardon me but, don't think about what?"

I froze and instantly turned 40 shades of red, "Its nothing… please don't do that…"

"I am very sorry, but it's rather hard to ignore when you keep thinking it over and over again."

"Sorry…"

We then entered an area of the forest that was almost completely silent. There were no birds, no buzzing flies, no movement at all.

"That's weird…" I said looking about for something to move.

"It is nearby." Abe said quietly, his hands on a tree.

I looked about trying to discern plant from animal.

"There…" Abe whispered, pointing at a large black horse near the water.

"Ok, we've found it, but are we really going to have to kill it?" I whispered back.

"I disagree with Manning's decision as well… Could you use your paper as a rope?"

"One harder than steel cable."

"Good. I'll go into the water over here and herd it back towards those trees there. You wait behind those trees and restrain it when it is close enough. Ok?"

"Got it," He turned to leave, about to take off his respirator, I grabbed his arm, "Be safe."

He nodded and proceeded into the water. I quickly opened my briefcase and readied my papers. The plan worked perfectly. Abe jumped out of the water and chased the Kelpie to me, and I harnessed it. It pulled hard on the rope, but with an extra push from my powers, I held it steady. Abe put his gear back on and we walked back to find the rest of the group. When we entered the clearing with the Kelpie on a leash, Manning gasped for words. He then exploded, "You were supposed to kill the damn thing! Kill it! Now!"

The Kelpie, who felt threatened for obvious reasons, reared back and whinnied. Manning fell to the ground in the fetal position. I heard HB laughing from the other side of the clearing. Quickly making a paper glove so I wouldn't stick to the Kelpie, I stroked its neck and it calmed down.

"Well since Manning is no longer fit to make a clear decision, I say we vote on what we do with the Kelpie." I announced.

Abe spoke first, "Releasing it into a more remote area would help. That way it wouldn't be able to endanger people."

"I second that." HB said.

"Same." Said Liz.

"Alrighty then. Nobody touch the Kelpie without gloves or something, it's sticky. Meyers! Could you find me a map please?"

He dug through a large bag beside him and brought it to me, gingerly stepping over Manning's trembling body.

"Thanks." I smiled and looked down at the map. There was a large lake surrounded by mountains that had no forms of entry other than airplane to the north. I showed the map to the group. We all agreed on the lake to the north. Loading me and the Kelpie up into a helicopter, an agent flew us to the other lake where I released it. We flew back and got back on the boat.

HB patted my head, "You're a natural. I vote you for our new director."

"Anything's better than Manning…" Liz said.

"I agree, but then I'd have to do boatloads of paperwork instead of just sitting around waiting for missions." I frowned.

"Yuck, that'd be way worse." Liz made a funny face.

I laughed and we sat together talking for the rest of the boat ride.

(Abe's point of view)

She laughed. It sounded almost melodious. Much sweeter than any symphony that I'd heard on the phonograph in the library. I leaned against the railing, feeling the spray of water on my skin. Why was it that whenever I was around her I had the need to protect her? This had never happened before. True she had a most extraordinary talent, and was by human standards good looking, but there was just something about her that made her special. I remembered her laughter from moments before and smiled to myself. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed her sitting and staring at the lake. Not wanting to pry, but feeling extremely curious, I tuned myself in on her thoughts; "_Do I like him or more? Why do I always get flushed around him? He's such a gentleman… This is turning out to be more than I'd bargained for. I knew I would find friends at the BPRD, but love?_" I immediately stopped listening to her thoughts. She sure as hell wasn't talking about Red… she was talking about me. I felt my cheeks grow hot. It would be a fairly awkward flight home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to all who've reviewed! All your positive feedback encourages me to write more! ***IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!!!***Starting Monday, I will be at camp for 2 weeks. I'm bringing a notebook to write in, but if you don't get an update message, don't worry! R&R plz!**

(Back to Adriana's point of view)

Again walking to the back of the plane with Liz, I settled in to read another book. After about an hour of flight, they served lunch. Liz was sleeping, so I leaned her against the wall and walked down the aisle to get food for us. Bumping into someone, I looked up to see Abe.

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going…" I blushed madly.

"No it's quite alright, I wasn't looking either…" his cheeks were purple.

We awkwardly shuffled around each other in the narrow plane aisle and my hand brushed his. A shiver went down my spine. He continued towards the back of the plane. I stood there a moment, contemplating what had just happened. Shaking my head I grabbed some food from the cart and returned to my seat. When Abe came out of the bathroom at the back he walked past but then looked back for a moment. I remembered I was staring at him and instantly looked down at my book, my heartbeat quickening. The remainder of the flight went by quickly. Getting off the plane, I made more care to look where I was stepping. It seemed that Abe walked closely behind me just in case. I immediately went to my bedroom. _Carrying this case of paper is a huge hassle._ I took off my sweatshirt and had a brilliant idea. _If I could line the inside and outside of this with tons of paper, I could bulletproof, waterproof and fireproof my jacket AND have spare paper to fight with!_ I smiled to myself and used some paper to suspend my jacket in the air. Using all of the 1000 sheets I had in my briefcase, I coated the jacket with layer upon layer until I'd used it all up. The jacket still looked the same, albeit a little bit stiffer. It was a good thing that I had enough control over the paper to make it soft and comfortable. Putting my jacket on again, I walked to Liz's room. I knocked on the door, "Liz! You in there?"

"Yeah just a sec!" I heard rustling and a large thump followed by a meek "ow."

"You ok?"

"I'm fine," she opened the door, "Come on in!"

I walked into a war zone. All of her things were strewn about the floor.

"Sorry about the mess… I've been meaning to clean that up for a while…"

"Its fine, I'm sure my room will look like this in a week or two."

"Sooo… did anything happen between you and Blue while the two of you were in the forest?" She sat me down and leaned in.

"No… Well, I suppose."

"SPILL."

"Well, I was just thinking 'don't think about it' over and over in my head so that I wouldn't think about him and my feelings and he noticed and asked me about it but then we saw the kelpie and had to do our job."

"Damn. That was cute the way he bumped into you on the plane though!"

I blushed, "We both weren't looking, it's not a big deal."

"Mmhmm, and when he looked back at you and you busily looked away?"

I looked down, "I dunno…"

"Well, I think that Abe deserves a girl like you."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. The last girl he liked died before he could tell her!"

"Oh yeah, I read the file on that mission."

"Sheesh, all you do is read!"

"That's not true!" I hit her with a pillow.

"Oh no you did not!" She grabbed the other pillow and hit me back. We engaged in a full flung pillow fight for a good ten minutes before collapsing in a fit of laughter.

"Heh… honestly though, do you think he likes me back?"

"I've never seen Abe light up so much when a girl walks in the room!"

"You're just saying that because you're my friend…"

"I'm saying it because it's the truth, Adriana." She said, sternly looking at me.

"Ok, ok," I held my hands up in submission, "Ugh… I feel like going to the library and reading but Abe friggin' _lives_ there!"

"Quite the predicament… Which is more powerful? Your love of books or your love of (and therefore embarrassment in front of) Abe?"

"Augh! I can't decide!!!!" I squished up my face and rubbed my head.

"I say you just go and read and lose yourself in a book, that seems to be where you're most comfortable."

"I guess you're right," I sat up and walked out the door. After a few minutes of wandering, I found the Library. Taking a deep breath, I walked in. Abe was in his tank working on a Rubix Cube. "Hey Abe, what are you doing?"

Still looking intently at the cube, he replied, "I've been working on this thing for six decades, but I've never completed it…"

"I'm pretty good with puzzles, may I try?"

He looked at me and suddenly realized it was _me_ who was there offering help, "Sure, um… let me get out…"

I patiently waited until he appeared by the door on the little balcony.

"Here, catch." He tossed it down to me.

As he walked down the spiral staircase to sit across from me, I got to work. My fingers worked quickly, flipping pieces back and forth. He watched my hands intently as I worked. In a mere two minutes I stopped, "Done!" I handed it back to him.

"Amazing…" He murmured. I blushed and got up to look for a book to read. He continued to sit and stare at the cube.

We both jumped at the sound of the alarm going off before rushing to the meeting room for the briefing.

"A lion has been terrorizing inhabitants of a village in Kenya. We need you all to kill it."

"Again with the killing?" I said annoyed.

"A Lion?! We aren't animal control!" HB boomed.

"The lion has shown characteristics only similar to the Nemean Lion of Greek Mythology. No weapons can pierce its skin."

We loaded into the plane once more for an even longer ride. I walked up the steps, but then Abe stopped me.

"Where is your paper?" His face looked worried.

"I didn't want to haul it around, so I coated my jacket with it, see?" I waved my hand and a sheet of paper came loose and then sealed back up."

"I see." He said.

I continued onto the plane and sat in the middle this time. Liz went to sit next to HB, which left Abe looking for a seat.

"May I sit here?" He gestured to the seat next to me.

"Sure." I moved my bag to the floor.

The flight was going to be so long that halfway through, they turned out all the lights so we could try and sleep. _Like anyone will ever get sleep on THESE seats…_ I thought. Abe chuckled. I blushed. After a while it appeared that Abe was sleeping. I suddenly realized that I needed to use the bathroom, so I got up and meant to gently step over him. Suddenly the plane gave a lurch and I ended up straddling. He was startled awake and rather shocked with the position we were in. I turned a million shades of red and stammered to explain. "I-I was t-trying to… the p-plane just lurched a-and… I'm s-sorry… I…"

He appeared to be blushing heavily, his entire face purple.

I quickly got up and went to the bathroom, terrified of what he now thought of me. I splashed my face with water and rubbed my temples. _Oh god… this is so embarrassing… I suppose its good that nobody else saw, but…_

Taking a few deep breaths, I walked back down the aisle to my seat. Abe graciously stood up so that I could get in. I pulled a piece of paper off my jacket and started messing with it. First a bird, then a beetle, now a mouse, a flower, a fish. I smiled to myself. I glanced at Abe, who looked away quickly. Unfolding the paper, I got out a pen and wrote a short sorry note to him; _Abe- sorry about that whole incident. It was a complete accident. –Adriana._ I folded the paper back into a fish and sent it swimming towards him with the words 'unfold me' written on the side. I then pulled out my book and pretended to read intently whilst looking over at Abe. He smiled at it, and then noticed the words. Gingerly unfolding it, he read the note. I looked back in my book. Neither of us spoke for the remainder of the flight.

Upon arrival, we walked out into the hot Savanna air. We were to drive to the village where the Lion was attacking. It was bumpy and hot, and I soon took off my jacket. Setting it on my lap, I looked out over the flat and dry plain. After an hour of driving, we arrived. The sun was setting to the west and since there were no huge cities for miles, the stars were breathtaking. We went to the edge of the town that the lion had come from in its attacks. Walking in a group so as not to be eaten, we headed out into the night. After a bit of walking, I thought I heard something behind us. I took no mind, but a few seconds later Abe said the lion was nearby. We stood in a circle, each of us facing outward with our weapons at the ready. I smelled fish, but then remembered Abe was standing next to me. _Wait a second, cats like fish!_ As if on cue, the lion appeared out of nowhere and pounced at Abe. I jumped instinctively, pushing Abe out of the way. The lion collided with me with crushing force, clawing and biting at my arms. I hit my head on a rock as I fell, and blacked out.

(Abe's point of view) **I think I may add this part at the end of every chapter… let me know what you think!**

Adriana pushed me down to the ground. I spun around in time to see the lion that had been after me, collide with her. Its claws ripped through her arms and chest, blood went everywhere. I instantly pulled out my gun and began shooting at it. None of the bullets pierced the skin. Dropping my gun I jumped at it, pushing it off of Adriana's now unconscious body. Red grabbed it and put it in a choke hold, remembering how Heracles had killed the original Nemean Lion. It fell to the ground and I remembered Adriana. Liz was already bandaging her wounds with a first aid kit she had in her bag. I ran over and grabbed her hand, scanning for any severe injuries.

"She's lost a lot of blood, and her lungs seem to have been damaged. We need to get her to a hospital as soon as possible!" I said to Liz, the worry evident in my voice.

"Ok! Red! We need you to carry Adriana back so she can be treated!"

"What about the two of you?"

"We'll be fine, just get her to the hospital!" I shouted, angrier than I should've been.

"Whoa, brother Blue. Calm down, I'll go." He gently picked her up and began running back to the village.

Liz began to pack up the first aid things and came across Adriana's jacket on the ground, "This must be why she got so many injuries, it was to hot to wear this!"

I was too busy thinking to realize she was talking.

"Hello? C'mon, let's go back. We can get the lion's body in the morning."

I silently got up and followed her. After a few minutes she spoke again.

"What's bothering you, blue?"

"It's just that-" I cut myself off.

"It's just that what?" she said.

"It's just that Adriana might die before I get to tell her how I feel! I don't want that to happen again!"


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm starting out with Abe's POV at the beginning, just so you know. I had a great time at camp and met this guy and… now I have a boyfriend! w So my stories might get a bit more realistic! ;) SORRY THIS IS SO LATE!**

(Abe's POV)

When Liz and I arrived at the hospital, Adriana was already in surgery. We sat in the lobby, waiting and hoping. Two hours later, they wheeled her into a hospital room. Liz talked to the doctor (since he was terrified of Red and me) and told us what was wrong.

"She lost a ton of blood, broke 5 ribs, punctured a lung _and_ got a concussion. They fixed everything, but there's no guarantee she'll be ok. Once we get home, she won't be able to go on missions for about 6 months."

"Little bugger's gonna be pissed at that news…" Red chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

I smiled weakly before walking into her room and sitting beside the bed. I grasped her hand, focusing on her thoughts. That was the problem, there weren't any. _The medications_ I instantly thought, but remembered she got a concussion. _This could be worse than I originally read…_

Liz and Red left to go call Manning, leaving the room empty save for me, Adriana and the machines probably keeping her alive. I sighed; _if she dies I'll never be able to forgive myself…_

That's when I felt it. A glimmer of a thought came from her head.

"Adriana? Are you awake?"

The thought grew stronger, but wasn't words, just emotion.

"Adriana! Can you hear me?"

The thought twisted and formed a quiet 'yes'.

"Can you move? Try and squeeze my hand."

The thought focused into one strong piece. She was trying with all her willpower to squeeze my hand. A finger twitched, and then the whole hand grabbed mine tightly.

"Ok, great! Can you try and open your eyes?" I was ecstatic.

'I'm so tired…'

"Ok… just rest then… I'm here for you."

I felt giddy. This was a good sign! If she continued at this rate of progress, she'd be fully functional in about two days!

After an hour, she thought to me; 'I'm going to try and open my eyes now.'

I took hold of her hand and waited. Her concentration was radiating from her mind. Slowly but surely, her beautiful blue eyes opened. I smiled at her and could feel her smiling inside.

I held her hand with both of mine, "Adriana, I need to tell you something."

'Yes?'

"I-I… uh… first I'd like to thank you for saving my life. And second I… want to tell you that…" I blushed and looked down at our hands, "that I think I… love you."

A mixture of shock and happiness came from her mind.

'Kiss me'

"W-what?" I was embarrassed.

'You heard that?' she was embarrassed too.

"Yes… and I think I'll do just that." I boldly said before leaning in and kissing her.

(Adriana's POV)

He leaned in and kissed me. The box in my mind separating me from the ability to move my body shattered. I was able to move again. My mouth responded to his and my hand went to his shoulder. When we broke apart I said, "I love you, Abe Sapien."

He smiled widely, "You can talk! And Move! This is wonderful progress!"

I giggled at his enthusiasm, but instantly winced in pain.

His expression quickly went from joy to concern, "You broke 5 ribs, punctured a lung and got a concussion. Try not to push yourself too much."

"I see…" I whispered, blushing lightly from his true concern for me.

"Let me go get Red and Liz!" his mood instantly bright as he began to stand up.

I grabbed his hand, "Wait, one last kiss? Who knows when we'll be alone next?"

He smiled and sat back down beside me. This kiss was much tenderer. Gently putting his hand on my cheek, he leaned in. I put my hands around his neck and kissed him. Our lips moved gently, both being modest but lustful at the same time.

A nurse walked in, "Ok, Miss Cross its time for your-" she noticed Abe, shrieked, and ran out of the room.

At the sound of her scream, we parted and looked away, both blushing heavily. Liz walked in with HB and laughed, "Finally!"

"Finally what?" HB asked, puzzled.

"Nothing, I'll tell you later…" she patted his arm, chuckling, "Anyway, now that you're awake, we can fly home."

"Good, how long until we leave?" I asked.

"Two hours, tops."

The doctors examined me once more and let me go. I would be out of service for only 2 months instead of the original plan of 6.

Abe and Liz walked on either side of me, making sure I didn't fall. Abe and I sat together on the plane. I was still very tired, and slept on his shoulder for the majority of the flight.

Walking down the steps from the plane, we were greeted by a very angry looking Manning. Just before he exploded at me, Liz and HB stepped in front and told him to at least wait to scold me until I got better. Abe and Liz then helped me walk to my room.

"The doctor said you should stay in bed as much as you can. We'll bring you food when you're hungry, so don't worry about that." Liz said her motherly side showing.

"I'll stay here with you in case you need anything." Abe said, pulling up a chair next to my bed.

I smiled, "I don't deserve such great friends."

Liz patted my head and left Abe and me alone.

Abe took my hand and I noticed his was dry, "Abe you go swim a while, if I need your help I'll send you a note, ok?"

"Alright, but don't get out of bed, ok?" he kissed my forehead and left.

I sighed happily as he walked out of the room. _Today was a good day…_ I thought.

When Abe returned, he brought me a load of books and some dinner. We then sat in silence together reading books until I fell asleep on him for the second time that day.

************************************************

One week later

"I hate being bedridden!" I fumed.

"Oh, calm down! It can't be _that_ bad." Liz said.

"Yes it can! The only times I've stretched my legs was to go to the bathroom! I hate it!"

"Well at least you can practice your powers in bed without setting off the sprinklers." Liz said smartly.

I giggled, "Fine, you're right I suppose… but I won't survive 5 more weeks of this Liz!"

"I'm sure you could get Abe to let you out a _bit_."

"Why yes, I'm sure I could, but I hate manipulating people I care about."

"I'll drop a suggestion to him then." She said picking up my breakfast tray and heading out.

I leaned back on my pillows. Sitting up again, I motioned to a large stack of papers on my desk. The one on top flew up into the air and landed in my hands. Taking a pencil from my nightstand, I wrote 'Abe, when can I get out of bed?!? 3 Adriana.' The paper flew up, into a little fish and away to Abe's tank. I waited, making a little show for myself with the remaining papers. Five minutes later, a paper airplane flew through my door and onto my bed, followed by Abe walking through the same doorway. I opened the airplane, but found nothing. Puzzled I said, "There's nothing he-"

Abe cut me off with a passionate kiss.

Upon pulling away, he replied "Yes you may get out of bed now."

"Yay!" I squealed, "Now I can come hang out with you!" I hugged him tightly.

We walked down to his library together. It felt wonderful to stretch my legs after a week of sitting. When we got there, we sat down on a couch together and played a round of card golf. It wasn't long before Liz came up and called us to dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay new chapter! Sorry its been a while… I have school and such…**

**On to the story!**

After dinner, Abe and I walked to the Library. We sat on the couch together and read books for an hour or so before I broke the peaceful silence.

"Abe-"

But before I could say anything else the alarms began going off again. We both speed walked to the briefing room to hear our next mission.

"Agent Cross, what are you doing here?" Manning said grumpily as usual.

"I'm going on this mission whether or not you want me to! I will not stay here and sit around while everyone else is out having all the fun."

"Agent Cross, you must stay at the base, no matter what."

"Adriana, he does have a point. You are not fully healed yet!" Abe said pleadingly.

"I know that, but what if you get yourself in trouble again!" I said half-teasingly.

"I'm more worried about you than me."

"Please??? I promise I'll be good!"

"Ugh… fine. We're going to have to let her come. The file says that there are four entrances to whatever the hell we're fighting's cave and I need a special agent to head each team." Manning said.

"Yes!" I punched the air with my fist as Abe sighed in defeat. It wasn't long before we boarded a plane and were headed off to England.

************************************************

Surprisingly enough, I slept well the entire plane ride over. We arrived and then drove out to the middle of nowhere. Getting out of the car, we noticed a very out-of-place mountain.

Abe suddenly tensed, "Whatever is in there, it is extremely powerful. We'll need to be very careful inside."

"We're always careful." Red said, earning an eye roll from Liz.

"Don't worry, Abe, it's going to be ok." I said, hugging him before we split into groups and headed towards our respective entrances.

My team was made up of a bunch of agents I had never met in my time at the BPRD, but they seemed friendly enough. A buzz came from our communicators, "Manning to agents, ready to enter?"

"Red to command, ready."

"Blue to command, ready."

"Sparky to command, ready."

"Paper to command, ready."

"Who named you paper?" Liz said then.

"Who named you sparky?" I retorted.

"Command to agents, proceed with caution."

And I began my walk into the darkness.

************************************************

The cave we were exploring was much like any other European cave I'd seen. Dark grey stone formed huge stalactites from the ceiling. Small pools of water were occasionally visible in the limited rays of our flashlights. It was so far an uneventful mission, but right when I thought that the trouble began. I heard a large boom far off, followed by a buzz from my communicator.

"Command to agents, what is happening?"

"Blue to Command, I can feel the being's power growing stronger as I get closer, still no signs of what it is."

"Sparky to Command, nothing to report here, just empty caves so far."

"Paper to Command, same as sparky."

Then it was silence.

"Command to Red, do you copy?"

I began to worry.

"Command to Red! Do you copy?"

"Blue to Command, I can still sense Red, he is alive and unhurt, but I believe that his communicator has been disabled."

I relaxed a bit, _Red does that sometimes, right?_ I thought. My group and I continued on through the catacombs. After a while, one agent's flashlight went out. I turned around and shined my flashlight where he was, but there was nothing there. _Fuck… its beginning…_ I thought.

"Everyone, stand in a circle with your lights flashing outwards." They did as told and I stood in the center looking every which way at the slightest sign of movement. "Draw your weapons and be on alert." I said before talking into my communicator; "Paper to command, one agent missing, his flashlight went out and he disappeared."

"Command to Paper, exercise extreme caution and be ready in case of attack."

"Blue to Paper, be sure you look up, not just around you."

I shined my flashlight up to find a now dead agent impaled on a bunch of stalactites. "Well that's just great." I sighed to myself.

"Paper to Command, found the agent, he was-" but before I could finish, a scream came from a couple of agents behind me as their flashlights suddenly went out and they too disappeared. The other agents broke the circle and fired, but soon they were taken as well. I began to run as fast as I could through the cave, deciding on every turn in a split second, just running for survival. I heard a buzz from my communicator but as I stopped to turn it on to listen, the thing caught up with me. I managed to press the button for sending a message. I shouted, "Abe! Its-" but the thing tore the communicator away from me and I heard it smash on a rock. Then the thing began to run through the catacombs to a large chamber with a large altar at the center. I tried to use my paper on the creature holding me, but a man suddenly stepped out of the shadows and held up his hand. My papers fluttered to the floor. He walked toward me and my heart rate went up, everything in my head was screaming at me to run, but his eyes were staring straight at me and I was stuck like a deer in headlights. Before I knew it, I was chained to the altar at the center of the room.

"You may wonder why I am doing this to you, Agent Cross. And I will explain to you my intentions… but know this; you will not survive."


	6. Chapter 6

**Now I know I left you all hanging, but please read this! Firstly, special thanks to Peya Luna, TheVooDooFish, and TheBlueBottle for reviewing so quickly!! Reviews motivate me to write more, so even if you didn't like the chapter but wanna know what happened, review! Secondly, remember that I am always open to suggestions (cos that means less work for me ;) ) so review with them plz!**

**ON TO THE STORY!**

abe's pov

Adriana's voice came up on my communicator, "Paper to Command, found the agent, he was-" and then a scream erupted from her end. I instantly went on alert, trying to feel for what had found her group. It felt to be a sort of… wolf? No, much bigger and more violent… Searching my mind for a record of something like it, the closest thing I could remember was possibly a Wolf-Bear hybrid with a bit of dark magic thrown in. I talked into my communicator to tell Adriana, but before I could say anything, she called me "Abe! Its-" and then the line went dead. I could tell from her tone of voice that she was beginning to panic. I was beginning to panic as well. I reached out with my mind and found her, but she was quickly moving out of my range. She stopped just before I would've lost her. I could feel her terror, and there was a small pain that I couldn't identify. That was when I snapped. I had to find her. I had to find her, no matter the cost. I took off into the darkness in front of me; turning everywhere I could sense her better. Whatever had her was definitely planning on harming her. Its huge power was just dripping with malicious intent. I still couldn't identify the monster that was holding her captive now. Its servant, the wolf-bear daemon, was there too, but no longer harming her, just waiting for orders. I kept running, my group struggling behind me. It was then that I felt the first slice of pain in her mind. Everything in me was driving me to find her immediately. I could feel her crying through our link. I wished so desperately that I could communicate telepathically and tell her that I was doing everything I could to find her and make everything ok again.

adriana's pov

I was terrified. A man telling you that you aren't going to survive something will do that to you, but I was still scared as hell. In the midst of all my fear, I also felt pain. My heart ached for Abe, his gentlemanliness, the way he smiled at me when I did something funny, the safe embrace of his arms… I would never get to see him again if this guy was telling the truth. The man standing above me was tall, with dark hair and ever darker eyes. His features were sharp, and gave him a very demonic look.

"The reason that I look so demon-like is because I am one, Agent Cross." He said, smiling evilly.

"You're a-!"

"Telepathic. Yes, among other things. I acquired it from another like you who was trying to destroy me."

"What do you mean, acquired?" I said in fear.

"I cut the ability out of him and implanted it within myself."

The wheels in my head were turning quickly, trying to comprehend how that was possible. I was truly worried now, seeing as that he had absolutely no remorse about what he'd done before.

"Now, seeing as you are wondering, I will explain this to you before I actually implement it."

I remained silent.

"First, one needs to find a person with a special ability, in this case you, to take from. Over my time here on earth, I have acquired a great number of talents; pyrokenesis, telekinesis, telepathy, superior strength, amazing intellect, flight, etcetera. Now, your ability my dear," he placed a cold finger on my jaw and drew my face up towards his, "Is the one of the rarest in the world, which is why I am taking this beautiful opportunity to take it from you. You see, there can only be one paper master in the world at one time. It will pass on to another when you die, and my process merely ensures that it comes to me and not some unsuspecting child. Now, what I will have to do is bring you to the point of death, and as your power is loosening its grip and preparing to take flight, I will take it out of you and implant it within myself. This will of course kill you, which is a pity really seeing as you are such a beautiful creature…" He smiled his creepy smile once more before walking over to a table I couldn't see, "Seeing as I'll have to almost kill you and I have always enjoyed blood, we're going to do this the fun way." He turned around with a long sliver blade. I immediately went into panic mode and my powers acted of their own accord, but same as earlier, he raised his hand and the papers fluttered away. He sliced off my paper-lined jacket and threw it on the ground, leaving me in a tank-top and jeans. Taking hold of my right arm, he sliced a cut, slowly and painfully, down the extent of my arm. I screamed in agony, blood pouring from my arm and tears pouring from my eyes. In my mind I prayed to God, to Allah, to Buddha, to Jesus, to Muhammad, to Shiva, to Odin, to any sort of religious deity to save me from whatever this man was going to do to me next.

abe's pov

I was still running. My group had become lost some time ago, but I had to keep going. Adriana was what mattered. She mattered more than anything to me. I had to find her before she was hurt any more. I was indebted to her, she had saved my life and now I had to save hers. I had to find her. My mind kept repeating this over and over in my head, _find her, find her, find her._ It was like a second heartbeat pounding in my ears. It should be me being tortured, wherever she was. She should not have to experience this.

**END OF CHAPTER!**

**I know you're all gonna be mad at me for ending at such a thrilling time, but I'll post the next part ASAP! Love you all! Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Since I know you all wanna find out what happens next, my regular note is at the bottom!**

adriana's pov

The bleeding in my arm had slowed, and my vision was ever so slightly blurry.

He quietly paced to the other side of the altar, before slashing my other arm in the same manner. I screamed at the pain once more, the tears cascading down the sides of my head. When I opened my eyes, my vision was ever blurrier.

_This is it… I'm really going to die here, aren't I?_ I thought weakly to myself.

"Right you are, my dear." The Man said, before re-opening the gash on my right arm that had begun to scab over.

The pain was unbearable. There was blood everywhere, blood and tears were dripping down the stairs of the elevated altar. When he did the same to my then scabbing-up left arm. With one quick movement he sliced my shirt off, leaving me in a bra and jeans. He cut a line down from the little nook in my collarbone down to my bellybutton, slicing off my bra in the process. I had too little blood left in me to blush, and I was chained down, so I could do little in the way of being modest. He made horizontal cuts at my collarbone, below my breasts and at my navel. I was breathing heavily, the lack of blood getting to me. He cut down my legs, slicing open my jeans as well. The pain was excruciating. He connected the lines from my arms to the one across my collarbone and the ones on my legs to the one at my navel.

_Abe! I love you!_ I thought as hard as I could through the pain. I needed to at least tell him that before I died.

Then I blacked out.

abe's pov

The waves of pain from her mind came one after another. Each wave brought terror, guilt and need. I was terrified of whatever could be doing this to her. I felt guilty that I wasn't there to protect her. I needed to find her. I could feel her presence closer and closer with each turn I took. I saw a small light ahead of me, so I took out my gun and blocked off my mind so that nothing could feel my presence. Turning the corner very slowly, I saw a great cavern in front of me. A light was shining down from the ceiling onto an altar at the center of the room. There was blood all over the pale white marble steps. At the altar was a man dressed in a suit, standing over a seemingly lifeless form.

Then I heard her voice in my head, _Abe! I love you! _Then nothing.

_Adriana!_ I instantly went into attack mode, I fired two shots right at the man's back, but they stopped mid-air and fell to the ground. I ran up the stairs, shooting for the sake of shooting, Adriana's blood soaking my shoes. Running out of bullets, I threw a punch. The man caught my fist and sent me flying down the steps. I landed in a pool of blood. Not caring for my own injuries, I ran back up the stairs in an attempt to tackle the man to the ground, but he stood as still as stone and once again sent me flying. This time, I landed on a sharp rock and cut my side badly. Wincing, I tried to stand up. The man was suddenly in front of me, lifting me up by the neck of my shirt. He brought me up against the wall.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? It seems that a feeble fish-man is trying to save the paper master. How quaint." He said with malice in his voice.

The power radiating off him was crushing, "Let her go! You have no right!"

"No right? Hah! I have every right, fish-man. That power should've been mine to begin with!"

"Adriana uses her power for good things; no man such as you deserves it!"

"Firstly, I am not a man, I am a demon. My specialty is collecting abilities, such as hers, which I might add, is extremely rare. And secondly, I deserve it because I killed the last paper master! I defeated him in battle, and I went to claim my prize, but he was dead and the ability had already taken flight. Do you know how long it took for me to find her? It took 70 years for the ability to settle into someone new! 70 years! And it took until now to find out who had the power! I have deserved this for 90 years!" He threw me to the ground and the same sharp rock now crippled my other side. He walked up the bloody stairs, smiling. Reaching for the knife he had set beside Adriana, he re-opened every cut he had already made on her body. Even unconscious, she winced away from the touch of the blade. I could hear her mind screaming for help. The entire altar and steps were a deep red-brown. He then set down the knife and raised his hand. Somehow, it turned a strange water-like blue color then he plunged it into her chest. Her mind was going haywire. Screaming at her to move, to think, to at least open her eyes or offer some sort of resistance. As he appeared to have found something, he smiled and made to remove it. There was a sudden change in Adriana's thoughts. They had changed from survival mode to calm. I sat there in awe as the blood-soaked papers that she must have used in her original attack rose into the air then flew by and sliced through the chains. The minute they were free, her hands clamped around his arm. She sat up and opened her eyes, which were now shining pure blue.

The look on the man's face was that of absolute horror as she looked him in the face and said, "Get your hands off me."

**Yay! She's not dead yet!**

**Reviews are love! Be sure to add me to your favorite's list in addition to your story alert list so that people who visit your page can see that you like me!**

**:)**


	8. Chapter 8

**New chapter! And she's not dead (yet…)! Just kidding, she won't be dying in **_**this**_** plot arc! ;) [Also kidding… I don't plan on killing her, but if push comes to shove, you never know!]**

abe's pov

She grabbed hold of his arm and said, "Get your hands off me."

The papers swirled around them, cutting at every inch of him. She pulled his hand from her chest and stuck it into his own. Bright orbs of light began flying out of him, soaring up to the hole in the ceiling.

_Those must be all the abilities he's stolen!_ I thought.

I couldn't hear the man screaming because of all the rustling papers, but I'm sure he was in severe agony. After no more orbs flew out, the paper froze and then coated his entire body, sucking the life from it. He contorted and tried to pull the paper off, but soon fell down dead.

It was then that I noticed Adriana faint and fall back onto the altar.

I ran up to her blood-soaked body. She was barely breathing.

I turned on my communicator, "Meyers! Liz! Red! Somebody get us out of here fast! Adriana needs medical care STAT!"

Manning answered, "Where the hell have you been?! We have been in the dark this whole time about you-"

"Shut the fuck up already, Manning! Don't worry brother blue, we've got a helicopter that's gonna put a ladder down that hole in the top of the cave, do you know how to get to that part of the cave?" Hellboy interrupted.

"Yes, we're here already, now please hurry!"

I put my communicator back in my belt and turned to face Adriana's cold, bloody body. I sat on the altar, not caring about all the blood, and lifted her chest up to my lap. Tears began falling down my face. I had never cried before, but now seemed an appropriate time. My tears fell on her face, carrying droplets of spattered blood down her cheeks. I hugged her to my chest and prayed that she wouldn't die in my arms like the last woman I loved… or thought I loved at least.

I could hear the helicopter above me and I looked up to find Agent Meyers descending on a ladder carrying some blankets.

"Abe! Here, wrap her in these blankets, its cold outside." He handed them to me and we busied ourselves.

I insisted on carrying her, and once we got to the helicopter, I did not leave her side. Or at least I stayed as close as I could with all the medical technicians crowded around her. It took a long time to get home, and when we finally did, both Adriana and I were put in the medical unit at the BPRD.

Red and Liz visited us every day. It seemed that there had been a cave collapse, blocking both Red and Liz off from the main cavern. Red's communicator had simply run out of batteries and he had convened with Liz and found a way out.

It had now been a week and a half since the… incident. My wounds were healed, although I was still a bit stiff from not swimming for so long.

Adriana on the other hand… her cuts were still in the process of healing, and she still hadn't woken up.

The doctors had said that her body just needed time to heal, but I knew very well that it wasn't normal at all for a human to take this long to heal from cuts. I knew that there had to be something else wrong with her, something that they'd missed…

Another week went by, and still no progress. I sat beside her bed every day and when I needed water I simply floated in my tank, only thinking of her.

I sat beside her bed and stroked her hair. She looked as if she were sleeping, like she'd wake up in a moment and smile at me. It broke my heart to see her nearly killed and it was breaking my heart to see that she might never wake up.

Then she stirred. Her face scrunched up and she groaned a bit.

"Adriana! Thank goodness you're alive!" I hugged her tightly.

"Um, could you let go please?" She said, unwrapping herself from my arms.

"You've been unconscious for two weeks! I'm so glad you're ok!"

She looked at me funny for a moment, and then said, "I'm sorry but… do I know you?"

**DUN DUN DUNNNNN!**

**Oh No! Is Adriana's memory gone forever? Tune in next time to find out!!**


	9. Chapter 9

**New Chapter! I don't have much to say up here, so imma start writing now…**

Abe's pov

"Sorry but, do I know you?" she said with a puzzled look on her face.

I could feel myself grow pale.

"Adriana, it's me! Abraham Sapien?" I said cautiously.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I can't recall ever meeting you and given your looks, I think I would've remembered." She said politely.

I rushed to get the doctors.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with her. It seems that she is just in shock and needs more time to recover. Usually patients with this problem remember after a specific moment that has happened before. Give her time and I'm sure she'll remember everything."

Red, Liz, Meyers and Manning met with me in the hallway.

Manning was mad because now he had to wait even longer to question her about the man in the cave.

Red and Meyers were mad at Manning for being such a jerk and Liz was worried for me, I could tell.

The Doctors said that since there was nothing physically wrong with Adriana, save some sore muscles, that she should leave the medical wing.

I led her to the library so that I could keep a close eye on her.

Adriana's pov

"Oh, it's so beautiful here!" I said sighing and investigating the closest bookshelf.

"Adriana, I'm going to ask you some questions, just to help myself assess the extent of your memory loss." He said, sitting on the couch with a pen and paper.

I sat down opposite him, "Ok, whatever helps."

"Where were you born?"

"Grand Rapids, Minnesota."

"Correct, do you have any special abilities?"

"Yes, I can control paper."

"Correct, where are we now?"

"Um… the library? I'm not sure where, but since everyone addresses people as 'agent' I'm guessing its run by the government."

"Alright, to you recall any missions that you've been on?"

"No."

"Do you recall any severe injuries you've sustained in your lifetime?"

"Well, in 2nd grade I was climbing a tree and fell and broke my arm and I have these cuts all over my body now so… yeah."

"Ok, well, thank you Adriana."

"You're welcome Agent Sapien." She said with a weak smile.

"Please, call me Abe."

"_Only if you call me Adriana."_

"_Very well, Adriana."_

I put my hand to my head. _What was that?_ I thought _a memory?_

Shrugging it off, I grabbed a pile of books and busied myself reading. Abe got in his tank and began reading his books on stands, tapping the glass when he needed the pages turned. A strong feeling of Déjà vu flashed through me, but I ignored it. After a quick dinner Liz brought me to my room.

"Hey Adriana?"

"Yes Agent Sher- Liz?" I said, stumbling on my words.

"Don't try and worry about not remembering, ok? If you put too much strain on yourself then it'll take longer to regain your memory."

"Thanks, I'll try not to focus on it." I said half smiling.

She left and I fell down on the bed. I looked around the room, trying to get myself to recognize it. I soon fell into a fitful sleep.

Abe's pov

I lay floating in my tank, a memory from just yesterday flashing through my mind over and over again…

"_Whatever is in there, it is extremely powerful. We'll need to be very careful inside."_

"_We're always careful." Red said, earning an eye roll from Liz._

"_Don't worry, Abe, it's going to be ok." She said, hugging me._

It's going to be ok. Her words echoed in my mind. I was beginning to lose faith in those words. Everything had gone disastrously wrong on that mission. Red and Liz were cut off from us, we lost two whole teams of agents, and Adriana was nearly killed and now had no memory of the BPRD or any of us.

_This is all my fault… I never should have let Adriana come with us…_ I thought, mentally kicking myself for not stopping her.

That's when I got an idea…

Adriana's pov

I awoke to the smell of bacon. Sitting up I noticed that Liz had brought me breakfast and left a note that read; _Adriana- Manning says that you're on recovery time until you regain your memory, but try not to push it too hard! –Liz._

I sighed and ate my breakfast silently. After a hot shower and a thorough examination of my nearly-healed stitches all over my body, I headed towards the Library.

I walked in and looked around for something that I might feel the slightest bit of remembrance for. I wandered to a book on the documented abilities possessed by humans.

Flipping to the page that described my power I read a familiar and then an unfamiliar paragraph. The first paragraph seemed like old knowledge… but the second part intrigued me.

'The Paper Master ability is very protective of its host. If the power itself is threatened and the host can no longer fight back, it will take control of the host and eliminate the threat. This normally drains most of their remaining energy and it is not unusual for a host to be in a coma for up to a month.'

_Damn, it says nothing about memory loss…_ I thought sadly.

"Oh! Adriana! I hope you are doing better?" Abe said walking down the spiral staircase.

"Not much I'm afraid… This whole memory thing is really frustrating me!" I looked back at the book once before closing it and putting it back on the shelf.

Just as I was turning around, a pair of lips met mine.

A flood of memories came roaring back.

_The jolt of the elevator in the BPRD lobby's floor._

_The thud of my head against the mat as I fell from my paper board._

_The whinny of the kelpie and the laughter of Hellboy as Manning cowered on the ground._

_The embarrassment of falling on Abe's lap on the plane._

_The pure terror and worry just before the lion pounced and the painful weight as I'm being crushed._

_The feeling of pure joy as I'm kissing Abe in the hospital._

_The terrible darkness of the cave._

_The searing pain as blood gushes from me._

But then they were gone.

And I was kissing Abe again.

He broke the kiss and looked away blushing as I stood there stunned.

"That didn't work did it…?" He said, heartbroken.

"I… I'm sorry." I looked at him, wondering just how much he had meant to me.

"No, it's not your fault." He sighed and broke our embrace, walking towards his tank.

I hugged him from behind, tears falling down my face, "Yes it is, and I am so, so sorry Abe."

**Oh noes!**


	10. Chapter 10

**ATTENTION!!!! I HAVE CHANGED THE ENDING ON THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER!! GO AND READ IT BEFORE YOU START READING THIS ONE!!! (Just re-read the last little section starting from "I awoke to the smell of bacon" at Adriana's POV)**

**I have decided to prolong Adriana's memory loss and use it to my advantage. Just FYI. Also, this is chapter 10! Yay new milestone! Special thanks to all of you who have supported me with reviews and favorites! Keep the love coming! More reviews = more chapters!**

Abe hadn't come out of his tank for nearly two days now. Hellboy or Liz would bring him food, but he never talked.

It was tearing me apart, this memory loss.

I knew that the memories had to be within me somewhere… I sat for hours concentrating, trying to find my way through the maze of my mind.

It was a few days later when it happened.

I was in the training room, re-mastering my paper abilities. Well… maybe not _mastering_, more like screwing around with my powers.

Lying on my back, I flicked my hands around above me, making schools of fish and flocks of birds swim and fly above me. I tried switching them back from birds to fish, but they wouldn't go.

Then they started unfolding. The wings were collapsing and the beaks mangling as they began to fall left and right. After a thorough shower of crumpled papers, I was puzzled. I sat up. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get a single paper to do my bidding. I picked up a piece and held it in both hands. I stared at it, focusing all my energy in the little thing.

Suddenly, pain shot through my head. Dropping the paper, I grabbed my head and fell backwards.

When Liz appeared a few moments later, I realized I had been screaming in pain. It was slowly subsiding by the time she got there.

"Adriana! Are you alright? What happened?"

"I don't know! I was just playing around with my paper when it stopped working." I was breathing heavily, still in a bit of shock.

"What do you mean stopped working?!" She was as shocked as I was.

"Here look." I pointed my hand at a crumple of paper and concentrated. Nothing happened, but then the pain returned to my head.

Everything was a haze, the noise in my head sounded like two different types of metal clashing against each other violently.

It subsided once more and some agents were looking in the doorway, concerned.

"We need to go to the medical wing NOW," Liz said sternly as she helped me up, "And no trying to use your powers!"

On the way, we met up with Hellboy, "Hey, I heard through the grapevine that you can't use your powers?"

I blushed, "Yeah… I'm sure it's nothing though…"

"Nothing my ass! Every time you try and use your powers you scream in agony like you're being tortured!" Liz said.

Hellboy looked at me worriedly, "Damn. I better get Abe; he's the expert on these things…"

At the mention of Abe's name I felt even worse. _Great, now in addition to him worrying about my memory he'll be worrying about my health… poor guy._

Liz and I turned to head to the medical wing and Hellboy continued on to go find Abe.

(Abe's POV)

I was lying in my tank, thinking of her.

Trying to find solutions to her problem, but finding none in my own mind.

A loud tapping came from the other side of the glass, I looked and saw Hellboy.

Swimming up to the glass I said, "You know that fish find tapping on the glass extremely annoying."

I expected him to chuckle, but he remained stoic, "There's something wrong with Adriana."

When he said her name I was instantly worried, "What?! What's happened? I'm getting out! One second!"

I rushed to the surface and grabbed a towel before running down the spiral staircase.

"It's her powers, they're not working. Every time she concentrates and tries to use them she starts screaming in agony and clutching her head."

My mind thought of the extreme agony she had been in the cave and I winced.

"I'll get some books on her powers; you go see how she's doing, ok?" I said and instantly went to work looking for books that had to do with human powers.

Moments later, I rushed into the medical wing to find a rather worried looking Adriana sitting in a bed with Liz and Hellboy on either side of her.

"I got the books, did the doctors say anything?"

"They're looking at some brain scans and running a blood test, but otherwise they can't find anything wrong." Liz said, getting up and pacing a bit.

I took her seat beside Adriana and handed a book to everyone, "We're going to have to skim these to find any symptoms like these."

We sat for a while, reading and waiting.

"I think I found something…" Adriana said, reading intently in her book, "it says here under 'general abilities' that loss of powers can be caused by severe stress, mental injury and…" she paused, looking at the book a bit oddly.

"Well?" Hellboy said impatiently.

"Sorry, and conflict with… other powers."

"Wait, so you're saying that there might be another super power in your head fighting with your paper ability?" Hellboy said.

"The book did say mental injury… and you have lost your memory. Is there a section on internal power conflict?" Liz said.

Adriana flipped to the index of her book, holding the other page as well, "Not in this book, check yours. Um, Abe? Could you hand me those post-its so I can mark this page?"

I picked them up and our fingertips brushed as I handed them to her.

A wave of thoughts flooded my mind:

A memory, she tried to use her powers, but a grinding sound split through her head. I could see two orbs of light, one a pale yellow and the other a deep red, clashing against each other within her.

"Abe? Are you alright?" Adriana said concerned.

I realized that I had been sitting perfectly still, "I think I just saw the two abilities clashing within your subconscious."

Everyone looked at me in disbelief.

"Well then get to work! Do a Vulcan mind-meld or something!" Hellboy said, making a silly Star Trek reference.

"Vulcan mind-melds are nothing like what I do, now Adriana, if you'd please relax completely, I need to see what is going on in your subconscious mind. This won't hurt a bit."

She closed her eyes and held my hand as I searched through to find the two abilities.

I could sense the paper ability; it was the yellow one I'd seen before. The other red one was much more powerful, and it seemed to be winning the battle.

The red orb began to clash against the yellow orb once more and Adriana started screaming.

She jerked her hand away to grasp her head in pain as the doctors rushed towards her.

They gave her an oxygen mask and told her to try not to struggle.

In moments she was unconscious, but I could still sense the conflict within her.

Suddenly, a great yellow orb burst out of her and flew upwards through the ceiling. And all was quiet.

**Oh noes! What will Adriana's new power be? Will her memory have returned? Find out next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**New longer than normal chapter! **

(Adriana's POV)

When I awoke, I felt like a missing piece of me had returned.

I was suddenly aware of a new presence within me.

It was powerful, but gentle, and I knew that it meant me no harm.

For my whole life I had been accustomed to my paper ability within me.

This new power felt like an old friend, even though I had never had it or known anyone who had.

After a few seconds I realized my memory was back!

Sitting up, I frantically looked around the room for Abe.

"Liz! My memory's back! Where's Abe?"

"Thank god you woke up! We thought we'd lost you for good that time!"

"Where's Abe!"

"I'll go get him; it'll just be a second!" She said smiling before running off to the Library.

I felt so much better with my memory back, and also so glad Abe would not be so hurt all the time.

Moments later I heard rushed footsteps coming down the hallway.

I got out of my hospital bed in time to see Abe come to a skidding halt as he turned in to the medical wing.

I smiled at him as he ran towards me and enveloped me in a great hug.

He lifted me up and spun me around as I giggled happily.

"I thought… I'm so glad you're alright!" Abe said, gripping me tightly, "Don't ever do that to me again, Adriana."

I hugged him back, "I am so sorry! I felt awful… I promise I won't worry you like this ever again!"

Leaning down, he gently kissed me with weeks of pent up passion.

My hands rested on his shoulders as I blushed, enjoying each moment.

"*ahem*, are we interrupting anything, lovebirds?" Hellboy asked, laughing.

I felt myself blushing even more and Abe broke our kiss.

"We'd love to let you two make up for the past month or so, but Manning wants to see you, Adriana." Liz said, trying to hold back her giggling.

"Let me just get some other clothes first. Tell him I'll be there soon." I said, exiting the medical wing.

Abe followed me out and soon caught up, "I'm going to keep an eye on you for a while at least, to make sure there are no more problems."

"Fine with me, just one condition; no peeping." I said in a serious tone.

He blushed dark purple and began stuttering, "W-what makes you think I would e-ever do that?!"

I laughed, "I'm kidding! You need to work on your sense of humor a bit."

Shaking his head, he chuckled, "You really are all better."

Arriving at my room, we both walked inside.

I went to my dresser to get some clothes out, but before I could walk over there the appropriate drawers opened up and the outfit I would've picked floated out towards me.

Holding out my hands, the clothes fell into my arms, little swirling and glowing strands of color were dissipating from where they'd been holding up the clothes.

For a moment Abe and I stood extremely still.

I broke the silence, "Did I just do that?!" I looked at Abe, a bit freaked out.

Abe had an extremely surprised look on his face, "I suppose this must be your new power?" He said uncertainly.

"Whoa…" I said, looking at the clothes in my arms.

I slowly walked toward my little bathroom to change, still a bit weirded out by the sudden appearance of my new powers.

Walking to Manning's office with Abe, I decided to experiment a bit with my newfound ability.

"Hey, got anything in your pocket?"

"Um, well, let's see… I have a paperclip?"

"Throw it in the air, I wanna try something!"

Abe complied and I thought hard, directing my mind at the paperclip.

The little multicolored strands returned and enveloped the paperclip, suspending it in the air.

I made it do little loop-de-loops in front of us as we kept walking, "I think I'm getting the hang of this…"

"Agent Cross! Get in here at once!" Manning's voice shouted from his office.

This startled me and the paperclip fell to the ground with a small _clink_.

"I'll meet you in the Library when I'm done, ok?" I said to Abe, pecking him on the cheek.

"Don't let any of what he says effect you. We both know that he'll never fire any of us, so just be calm."

I smiled at him and entered Manning's office.

Cautiously, I sat down in a chair opposite him, "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes. I understand that you have been having memory issues but are now miraculously cured? Please explain why we had you out of commission for almost a month!" He said rather angrily.

"It seems that when I awoke after the incident in the cave, which, I might add, I had no idea why it happened, the shock made me forget anything about the BPRD. I have since recovered but have lost my paper manipulating ability."

"If you don't have your power, why should I even keep you around?" He said angrily.

I was beginning to become agitated, "I now possess another, more powerful power."

"And what might that be?" He said skeptical.

_Calm down, Adriana,_ I thought to myself as I got even angrier at his incompetence, "Do you have a paperclip?"

He got one out and handed it to me.

I tossed in the air and concentrated.

The little wisps of color appeared and held the paperclip in the air.

"That's all it does?" He said, annoyed.

_That's it!_ I thought.

The paperclip shattered into little metal pieces that showered onto his desk.

He shrank back in his chair, "I see. You're free to go."

I smiled smugly and left to find Abe.

Walking in the library, I noticed that Abe was in his tank.

"Hey! I'm back!"

He swam up to the glass, "How'd it go?"

"Fine." I said, smiling.

He chuckled, reading my thoughts of what had happened.

"I'll be out in just a moment." He said, swimming towards the surface.

"Wait! Let me come up there! I've never seen your room before!" I said.

I went up the spiral staircase and through the door to Abe's room.

It was a plain bedroom, with a large bed and some bookshelves.

Abe walked through a door on the other side of the room with a towel around his neck.

"I don't really use the place much… just a place to put my clothes I suppose. I sleep in the tank after all, and I don't have much need for the bookshelves since I'm in the Library already."

"It's still bigger than my room!" I said smiling as I sat down on the large bed.

Abe finished toweling off and put on a shirt before sitting beside me.

"So how long can you stay out of water before drying out?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Probably 24 hours, give or take."

"Just how much water is in that tank of yours?"

"It has about 375,000 gallons of water in it."

"Huh… can we go to your tank? I'd like to try something with my new powers."

"Certainly."

We walked through the door to his tank room.

Concentrating on the water, I summoned my powers.

A large bubble of water gently floated up and up until it was about eye level.

I smiled widely, "This power is so awesome!"

Dropping the water, I then got a bubble of air underwater. Not only that, but I got it to stay there.

"I'm starting to think that this power was worth the wait." I said.

Abe's arms hugged me from behind as he said softly in my ear, "But not for nearly losing you."

I turned my head up towards his and kissed him softly.

Turning me around so we were facing each other, he ran his hands up my sides as I held his neck.

We stumbled back into his room, lips locked and hands exploring, before tumbling onto his bed.

My hands gently pulled the black shirt off of him and I traced my fingers along the stripes on his chest.

Soon, my shirt joined his on the floor, followed shortly by my bra.

Our pants were not long behind.

When we collapsed in each other's arms, I was perfectly content.

I kissed Abe fiercely once more before we fell asleep, peaceful at last.

**Alright! What will this new power bring? How will Abe and Adriana's relationship fare from here on? Tune in next time!**

**Also, if you wanna know where I got the idea for the new power, it's the iTunes visualizer. Specifically the "magic plant" mode as its known on the internet.**

**To see what it looks like, go to youtube, search 'new itunes visualizer' and click the 6****th**** video on the list.**

**REVIEWS = LOVE! More reviews, faster update!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12! Starting with something new this time, hope u like! Also, if you didn't catch it at the end of the last chapter, Abe and Adriana slept together! :D**

(Hellboy's POV) **This is only for a wee little bit, for a bit of humor.**

Walking into the Library, I was surprised not to find Abe drifting in his tank, asleep.

_What the hell? He __always__ sleeps in his tank…_ I thought to myself.

I squeezed my way up the narrow spiral staircase to the door to his room.

I swung the door open quickly, "Abe, you in here?"

The sight that met my eyes made me laugh loudly.

Adriana grabbed the blankets and quickly covered herself while Abe yelled at me to get out, both blushing heavily.

"Red! I have not bothered you ONCE when you're with Liz, so would you please leave NOW!" He said, still being slightly polite.

Wiping tears from my eyes, I said, "I know, I know, I'm sorry, but… pfft! HA!"

"GET OUT!" Adriana said fiercely and I felt myself being pushed out of the room and the door slamming in my face.

I'd never seen the little squirt so mad!

_Must've been her new power that did the door thing…_ I thought, squeezing back down the stairs and running to find Liz and tell her the good news.

Screeching to a halt in the kitchen, where Liz was preparing breakfast, I said, "You'll NEVER guess what I just saw!"

"Manning quitting his job?" She said hopefully.

"Sadly, no, but it's even better than that!"

"NO WAY. You walked in on Liz and Abe in BED?!" her mouth hang agape.

"How'd you guess?" I said disappointed.

"Wait, you did?!?!"

"Yeah! Isn't that hilarious?"

"I'm so happy!!!" She said spinning around, "I always knew they were perfect for each other!"

(Adriana's POV)

The door slammed behind Red and I sighed, rubbing my temples.

"He's always been that way, I'm afraid." Abe said, rubbing my bare back.

I sighed contentedly at the touch and turned to kiss him.

We lay back down in each other's arms happily.

"We should probably get up soon…" He said sadly, stroking my hair.

"You're right as usual," I smiled, "I should get to figuring out my powers anyway."

We got up and collected our clothes from the floor.

I dressed quickly and gave Abe one last kiss before running off to my room to shower.

The entire way I prayed that neither Hellboy, Liz nor Meyers would see me because Red had probably told them already.

Minutes later, I came out of the shower.

Walking out of the steamy bathroom into my room, I noticed Liz on my bed.

A devilish grin was on her face, "So… I take it you didn't sleep in here last night?"

I blushed heavily, quickly grabbing some clothes out of my drawers and heading back into the bathroom to change.

"You know you're gonna have to talk to me at some point!" Liz said through the door.

"I know! I know! Just lemme eat and such first!" I opened the door and headed off for the kitchen, Liz trailing behind me.

"Wait up! It's not fair! You're not pregnant like me!" Liz said, huffing.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

"You're _pregnant_?!" I said, shocked.

Liz caught up to me, "End of the first trimester. Sorry I didn't tell you… didn't want you to be going easy on me like most people."

"Wow. You need to give me the full scoop on this later." I continued for the kitchen.

Walking in, I saw Abe being interrogated by Hellboy.

Red and Liz went silent as Abe and I blushed.

I went to the fridge and grabbed a piece of bread and stuck it in the toaster.

All was silent.

Meyers walked in, "The weather's good today so Manning said it'd be ok if anyone wanted to go… did I miss something?"

Everyone busied themselves with food, not saying a word.

The toast sprang up and I jumped.

Red chuckled, "You're not afraid of jumping in front of a lion but you're afraid of the toast popping up?"

"The toast startled me! I knew that the lion was about to pounce!" I said, mock angry.

I spread some Nutella on my toast and began eating it, sitting on the counter.

Breakfast continued with small talk, everyone trying to avoid the subject we were all thinking of.

Meyers was clueless, but went along with it anyway.

* * *

LATER

Liz and I had decided that she would give a summary of what had happened at the BPRD before I'd arrived while I practiced my new power.

We headed for the training room.

I set my water on the side of the room and stretched a bit, "Ok Liz, I'm ready for the story! Ignore me, just focus on telling it please."

"Alright. Let's see… So there was this guy, Prince Nuada, who was the prince of this other world with like every sort of mythical creature possible. He wanted the other half of this broken crown that when put together would awaken the Golden Army, which is a supposedly unstoppable army made of gold clockwork-like machinery. Anyways, he wanted to wage war against the humans and all that stuff that evil guys usually want to do. His twin sister, Princess Nuala, was the exact opposite. She was kind and very helpful to us in the fight against his brother. But then her brother kidnapped her and said he would only release her in exchange for the other half of the crown and…"

I concentrated and thought of my paper wings as my power began to swirl around me.

"And?" I said impatiently.

"Well… Abe sorta had a thing for Nuala…"

I felt a small twinge of jealousy, "Ok… and?"

"So he gave Nuada the other piece and he unleashed the golden army and Red was having trouble fighting them and so Nuala stabbed herself because it would kill her brother as well as her because they were twins. So she died and Abe was depressed for a long time until you came."

I smiled, happy that I was the reason that Abe had become happy once more.

My power had formed wings as well as it could. They were similar to my old ones only with less defined edges and you could see through them.

Concentrating harder, I managed to flap them and get up in the air.

Happy with my success, I zoomed about the room.

"Hey kid, think fast!" I heard Red shout.

"Red, don't!" Abe shouted.

I turned towards him to find a large ball headed straight at my face.

Putting my arms up, I braced for impact, but it never came.

Opening my squeezed shut eyes, I found that I had subconsciously put a shield all around me.

The ball had ricochet off of the shield and right back into a laughing Hellboy's face.

I smiled smugly at Red as I landed softly on the ground.

Abe rushed towards me, "You are ok, right?" worry flashed in his beautiful blue eyes.

I kissed him lightly, "I'm fine, Abe, but I don't think Red is very happy."

We both turned to see a very annoyed Red getting yelled at by a rather mad Liz.

Chuckling, Abe took my hands and kissed me before we walked out of the training room.

"Manning said it would be ok for us to go outside today if we liked. The BPRD has about 100 acres around this building we could go to."

"Alright, let me go find a coat. Shall I meet you by the elevator?"

"Sure, see you in a bit." He let go of my hand and turned to leave but I caught him just before he turned away.

I stood on my tip-toes and kissed him deeply, my hands on his shoulders.

He smiled into the kiss and cupped my cheek.

Slowly breaking the kiss, we went our separate ways.

I skipped down the hall, much to the bewilderment of some random agents I passed.

Finding my way to the elevator from my room, I saw someone or… something peculiar.

A large scuba-suited person/thing was in the hall talking with Abe.

In the helmet where a head should have been, there was only white gas!

I walked up cautiously.

"Adriana! I'd like you to meet my good friend, Johan Krauss." Abe said, noticing me.

"I have heard much about you, Fraulein." The suit turned to look at me, it's hand outstretched.

I shook it, "I'm sorry I have not heard of you. My name is Adriana Cross."

"Vell it is good to meet you, but I must find Agent Manning as ve have some important business to discuss. Bis Abend!" **(this means 'until tonight')**

Abe and I got on the elevator and rode up to the surface.

Waving to the guard, we exited out the back door into the woods behind the building.

I shivered and Abe put his arm around me.

We walked in silence down a small path until we found a bench.

Sitting on it, I snuggled into his warm chest and sighed contentedly.

"Do you miss her?" I said, stroking his gloved hand in mine.

"Who?"

"Princess Nuala."

He remained silent for a minute, then spoke, "On occasion, yes… but I don't think it would've worked out, had she survived…"

"Why is that?"

"I'm not quite sure… it's just… in comparison to my relationship with you, I feel like I love you more than I ever loved Nuala…"

I smiled to myself and nuzzled closer to him, inhaling his fresh smell of dew.

He stroked my hair and kissed my forehead as we sat there together in peace.

We slowly walked back, hand in hand, and stopped just before the door.

Cupping my cheek, he leaned down and kissed me ever so gently.

I felt like I was about to melt even in the crisp and cold November air.

That's when I heard a voice from beside us.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here?" a male voice that I knew all too well said from beside me.

I immediately broke off the kiss and stared in disbelief at a man that I thought dead, "Luke?! You- Since when did- How the fuck did you find me?!"

**DUN DUN DUNNNNNN! Dra-mah! Exciting eh? First reviewer to guess who luke is and/or what he's doing there gets an author chat! (a little chat thing at the beginning of the next chapter) AND a sneak preview at the next chapter! I have winter break starting this week so imma have lots of time to write! :D**

**OK, so I was browsing deviantart, and found this fanservice meme… and someone had filled it out w/ Abe!!! AND ITS SO AMAZINGLY AWESOME.**

**The link is here - - - (BUT TAKE OUT ALL THE SPACES FIRST, OTHERWISE THE LINK WON'T WORK) **

**h t t p : / / violette - aner . deviant art . com / art / Fanservice – Meme – Abe - Sapien- 142129003**

**Super hot! :3 I drool'd so don't be embarrassed if u do! ^__^ and I think of Adriana & Abe's relationship as more seme than uke (you'll know what I mean when u see the pic)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author Chat w/ TheBlueBottle!**

**Cloudgirl9: Congrad's! You correctly guessed that Luke was Adriana's ex-Boyfriend!**

**TheBlueBottle: Yay!**

**Cloudgirl9: Now then, what would you like to discuss with me?**

**TheBlueBottle: I actually have some questions for you.**

**Cloudgirl9: fire away!**

**TheBlueBottle: How would Abe react when he learns that Luke was Adriana's ex-BF?**

**Cloudgirl9: well, you kinda find that out at the beginning of this chapter, but I think he is a bit curious as to why she ever dated such a man, and also a bit mad at him for being there and being a bit of a threat (even though not to the BPRD and humankind)**

**TheBlueBottle: Do you think there would be Hellboy 3? If so, what do you think it may be about?**

**Cloudgirl9: I REALLY want there to be a Hellboy 3!!! Although I have no clue what it will be about… I think that since they totally broke Abe's heart in the last one that they should offer some closure for him and maybe a new love interest (hint hint, Guilliermo del Toro, if you're reading this, I am completely ok with you using this as the plot of HB3!!!) Anyways, they should for sure do another movie because there's a lot of really cool characters from the comic that they left out.**

**TheBlueBottle: What are your ambitions for your future?**

**Cloudgirl9: Personally, I'd like to become an Anthropologist with emphasis on Forensics. Its kinda weird that I've never seriously considered being a writer, but I just sorta started writing stories last summer and before I knew it, a new obsession was born.**

**TheBlueBottle: What name would you give the new power Adriana has?**

**Cloudgirl9: uuuummmm… I don't really have a name for it… as you know, it was inspired by the iTunes visualizer, but I honestly have no name for it. I'll let you guys know when I do!**

**TheBlueBottle: Last Question! Would you want to be in Adriana's position? (Or shoes...if you get my drift...)**

**Cloudgirl9: YES. I write all of my fanfiction stories as if I was experiencing them. This is mainly why all of my stories are from the same original books/movies/tvshows as all my favorites.**

**TheBlueBottle: Thanks a bunch for answering these!**

**Cloudgirl9: Yup! Just letting all of you know, specifically TheBlueBottle, Peya Luna, shankarasu, DemonCentaur, and Raine44354, you guys are the reason that I write! You are the ones who support me and criticize me and love my stories and don't judge me because of them! Thank you all so so much for staying with me this far and be sure to keep on reviewing so I can try and reach at LEAST 20 chapters!!! :)**

Link

**^^ that's a link you should all go to (if it works…)**

**Anyway, new chapter! Sorry it took me forever to post this… I've been working on four stories (this one included) simultaneously. I'm trying to write another chapter for 'Zacharoni' and am in the process of writing the first chapters of a yet unnamed Sherlock Holmes story and another unnamed story about Avatar (the movie not the nickelodeon show). Do go and check those out once I put them up!**

"Come now, Adriana, that's no way to greet your old boyfriend," He said with his impish smile.

"Key word there Luke, _old_ boyfriend. As in _former,_ as in _I don't like you anymore_!"

"It seems that you've only gone from bad to worse then, what with Mr. Fish here."

I felt Abe stiffen and his fists clench, "Shut up, Luke!" I said firmly.

"Am I making little miss origami mad?"

"That's it!" I could feel my power surging around me.

I raised my arm to punch him, concentrating my power in my fist.

Throwing my punch, Luke caught it and encased my fist in ice.

"God dammit Luke!" I concentrated and my power shattered the ice.

Luke looked at me with his disgusting smirk, but I could sense a hint of fear.

"What on Earth is going on up here?!" Manning stormed out onto the back patio, "Agent Cross, you are to stop attacking Mr. Amherst this instant!"

I huffed and crossed my arms, glaring at both Manning and Luke. Abe put his hands on my shoulders and I calmed down a bit.

"Now then, Mr. Amherst, please accompany me to my office for your preliminary interview."

"You don't mean to hire him do you? He's a lying, cheating asshole who thinks that women are lower beings!"

"Agent Cross, you have no authority over who I do or don't hire, now if you'll excuse me…" Manning and Luke walked back inside.

"Augh! I hate that man so much!"

"Which one?" Abe asked.

I smiled, turning around and hugging him tightly, "Both… We need to talk later, ok? For now let's just hope that Manning doesn't hire that bastard…."

He looked at me with concern, but understood and the both of us walked inside, his arm around me.

(Abe's POV)

I was intensely curious as to who this Luke Amherst was. Adriana had promised to tell me the story about their relationship since I had not gotten close enough to him in order to read anything. After we'd seen him out on the patio and heard that Manning was considering hiring him, she had gone to her room. I wanted to comfort her, but she would not let anyone in. Standing by her door, I put my hand on it to try and read what she was feeling. From my distance I could sense fear, hatred and sorrow. Trying the knob, I walked in to find her lying on her bed, clutching her pillow tightly.

I walked to her side and sat on the bed, "I could sense that you were feeling under the weather, is there any way I might help?"

She sat up and smiled at me, "You are the sweetest guy I've ever known, you know that?"

"I am well aware that I have a rather pleasant personality, but-" She cut me off with a kiss, her hand going to my shoulder.

I hugged her close to my chest as she broke the kiss and sighed, "I suppose you've been wondering what the deal is with Luke huh?"

"Indeed I have been a bit curious, there is no need to talk about it if you do not want to."

"No it's ok, you have a right to know anyway… Luke and I met in college. I had become classified as the school freak after another little incident of mine."

I read a quick memory of her defending herself from some upperclassmen who were trying to hit on her and I cringed a bit.

"He came to me and told me that he was like me. That he had his own secret power. I trusted him solely because of that fact. He was part of the popular crowd, so when he asked me out and we started dating, people accepted me. I was so happy to have actual friends that I was blind to what he was really like. Around other people, he was a funny and charming guy but alone he always wanted to mentally torment me with backhanded compliments and other little things. I told him one day that I wanted to break up with him, but he didn't want to. His ice powers could neutralize my paper powers, so I was unable to threaten him. Eventually when we graduated, I moved away and changed my cell phone number so I would never see or talk to him again, but here he is now to ruin my life some more." She sniffled and I wiped away a small tear from her cheek.

"As long as I'm here, he won't be able to do anything to you," I said, looking straight in her eyes.

She smiled beautifully at me, "I love you Abe," and hugged me tightly.

I kissed her forehead, "As I do you, Adriana."

* * *

(Adriana's POV)

We were all called to the meeting room later in order to discuss some things. Manning told us that Agent Krauss was returning from a research period in his native Germany and that was why he'd been gone the past two months or so. We also talked about the issue with Luke.

"Now Agent Cross, I see no reason why I shouldn't hire Mr. Amherst tomorrow morning!"

"He's a total jerk who treats people around him like crap! Plus he only uses his ice ability to threaten girls he dates!"

"That is unverified, Agent Cross. Agent Meyers, get a room set up for Mr. Amherst, I'll call him tomorrow morning."

"Agent Manning, if I may interrupt?" Abe said, polite as usual.

"What is it, Agent Sapien?"

"I suggest that, since Adriana has a well meant dislike for this Mr. Luke Amherst, that he not be assigned on the same missions at least?"

He really was the best guy ever.

"There is no guarantee of that Agent Sapien, especially since it is none of your business who I assign to which mission. Now then, that is all for now."

We filed out of the meeting room, all annoyed at Manning.

Abe and I went to the library to read and try to forget the annoying situation and to just be with each other.

**Luke is Adriana's ex-boyfriend who she broke up with because he was a total asshole. At first they'd dated because Luke was the popular guy at college and Adriana was in love with the him that was shown in public. Once they began dating, she realized that he never kept promises, always gave backhanded compliments and was cheating on her with numerous freshman girls. When she got defensive, he threatened her with his ice powers, which could easily neutralize her paper powers. Eventually, she broke it off with him by threatening to tell his friends about his powers. He, being high on the social ladder, made her unpopular and was always mean to her whenever he saw her. When they graduated, she hoped to never see him again, but sadly now she has to.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Go ahead and read the chapter that you all have been dying for me to write!**

When I woke up the next morning, I could feel something wrong. As I got in the shower, I felt the water run cold. I shivered and waited for it to return to normal. It got colder and colder. I stepped out of the path of the water and folded my arms, annoyed. Turning the water on full heat, I waited some more. The water stayed cold. I moved to get out of the shower, stepping through the stream of water in the process. The water froze around me, rooting me to the spot. I knew what was wrong instantly; Luke.

"Luke, I know you're in here. Unfreeze me now unless you want to get hurt badly." I said, trying to control my anger.

I heard him chuckle from the other side of the curtain, "You always were a stubborn one, Adriana."

My power began to flare up as I got annoyed, little strands of color surrounding most of me. The ice began to crack all over. Hearing this, Luke pulled back the curtain and stared at me angrily.

"Impossible! You can't change powers!"

"You sure? Because I'm pretty sure that I did already." By now all the ice was in pieces around my feet. I waved my hand and he went flying through the bathroom door and landed with a thud against my bookcase. All the carefully stacked books tumbled down on top of him. I grabbed my bathrobe from the hook next to me and put it on.

Luke moaned from beneath the book pile. His head and torso soon came out the top, "You… you filthy little-!"

I pressed the emergency button next to my bed and the alarm started going off, sirens blaring.

He looked at me angrily and stood up. Sharp icicles were thrown at me with amazing speed. I ducked and kept moving, trying to stay out of their path as they pierced the wood paneling of the walls behind me. I blocked a few of them, but one got though when I wasn't looking and cut across my shoulder, leaving a deep gash and gushing blood.

The door to my room burst open. Luke pointed his hands towards them. I shouted, but it was too late. Two icicles dove deep into Abe's stomach and shoulder. That set me off.

My powers surged, the strands of colors becoming longer and thicker. I stopped the ice from forming in his hands and pinned him to the wall. The colors were gathering around his neck and choking him. His face was turning blue.

"Adriana!" a raspy gurgle/cough followed the sudden outburst of my name.

At the sound of Abe's voice I instantly stopped and rushed to his side. Luke fell and hit the floor, unconscious.

"Abe…" I whispered, cradling his head in my lap. I don't know when I started crying but the tears fell onto his forehead as he lifted his hand to brush them off my cheek.

His hand touched the side of my face lovingly, but soon fell to his side. "Somebody get a gurney from the medical wing! Hurry!" I was suddenly aware of the blood beginning to pool around us. I whispered that I loved him as his eyes closed. Liz knelt down and put a hand on my shoulder.

The gurney soon arrived and I had to relinquish him to the doctors. I sat there on the carpet stained with his blood, the tears in my eyes all dried up.

"Agent Cross, ve need to ghet zat schulter looked at. Come now, give me your hand." Johann Kraus knelt beside me and helped me up. I walked numbly to the library where he pulled out a first aid kit since the medical wing was busy with Abe. I remembered that I wasn't wearing anything under my robe as I sat on one of the couches. I carefully exposed my cut shoulder while trying to keep the fabric over my chest. My breath was ragged and my heart was still pounding in my ears, the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Johann carefully gave me a shot to numb the area, then went to work stitching up the wound.

"Zer we go! Good as new. Just don't ghet it vet, ja?"

I nodded in thanks as I pulled my robe back up over my shoulder. I sighed heavily, the events of what felt like an hour but was really a few minutes played through my head.

Abe was hurt because of Luke, and he might die and I might never see him again or be able to tell him I love him or to kiss him or to feel his safe embrace or his beautiful striped skin or…

"Agent Cross? I may not be telepatik, but I zhink zat I know vat you are zinking. I know zat you care deeply fur Agent Sapien, and zat you are vorried about him. Ven I vas alive, I had a sehr strong love fur meine liebe, Anke. I loved her more zan I loved myself. But ve vere separated in ze confusion of ze second vorld var and I never saw her again. Zough ve have been apart so long, I still love her vith all of my heart. And somehow, zough she is probably long zince gone… I know zat she still loves me."

If Johann had visible eyes, I just knew that I would be able to see immense sadness and longing in them. He loved her and he knew she still loved him, even if she was gone.

I put my hand on his hand and looked him in what I supposed where his eyes would be, "Thanks, Agent Krauss, for everything." I got up and headed back to my room to get some clothes. I walked into my room to find it just as I had left it; a complete disaster. There were large puncture marks in the walls from where the icicles had been. A bookcase was smashed and the books were in a heap on the floor. A large dark stain was near the doorway in the crème colored carpet. There were agents everywhere, taking pictures and such.

Manning spotted me and dashed over, "I think you'd be happy to know that we have Mr. Amherst in custody."

I nodded and headed for my dresser to grab some clothes. He followed me over, "I am just appalled at how he made a complete 180 on me. He seemed perfectly fine in the interview…"

I turned to him angrily, "Seemed perfectly fine?! Didn't I tell you he was a lying and manipulative bastard?! Didn't I tell you it would be a really bad move to hire him?! And now it's all your fault that you might lose your best agent!"

"Agent Cross, I had no idea that he hadn't changed and I know that you are upset about Agent Sapien but-"

"Upset? _Upset?!_ I'm furious! My evil ex-boyfriend shows up and might have killed the guy I love! This incident is on _your_ hands Manning! If Abe dies, this place will never be the same! Because in the end, all the freaks have are each other!" I grabbed my clothes and stormed out of the room, tears running down my face as I raced to Liz and Hellboy's room.

**Oh no! What will happen?! All suggestions as to what should happen next will be read, considered and individually replied to! I will also put your name in a thankyou section at the beginning of next chapter! I'm terribly sorry that I haven't updated recently… I've got lots of homework and shit… Luckily, spring break is only 3 weeks away! I have two weeks off, so I'll try and write at least one new chapter for this story, my bones story and my Sherlock Holmes story! Love you all!**


	15. Chapter 15

**New chapter! I'm now on spring break and have come up with a good story for the next few chapters so you should get at least one other update in the next two weeks! I will also be trying to update some of my other stories as well but we'll see how that turns out… Enjoy!**

I knocked loudly on the door to Red and Liz's room. Liz said 'come in' from inside and I walked in to find the place a mess, as usual. Liz was sterilizing a few cuts that HB had gotten from the incident earlier.

From the looks that they both gave me, I could tell that they were a bit worried about my emotional status. I walked to the bathroom and changed quickly into a pair of jeans and a BPRD t-shirt. Walking out, I sat down on an armchair and grabbed a kitten to snuggle. Liz finished putting band-aids on Red and walked over, sitting in the chair opposite me.

"Look, Adriana, I know exactly what you're going through right now, and let me tell you this: Abe is going to be ok," she looked at me sympathetically.

I sighed, "I know but… I just have a hard time believing that 100%... also I'm mad at Manning because he was being an asshole as usual."

She smiled, "Yeah, well that's to be expected. I'm sure everything's going to be just fine. Luke will be forced to leave, Abe will heal, and everything will be back to normal."

_I hope so_ I thought to myself as I stroked the striped kitten in my lap.

As I waited for news on Abe, I had a strange feeling Liz was wrong. Something bad was going to happen, and I just knew it.

Before long, Agent Meyers came to us saying that Abe was alright but still unconscious. We rushed to the medical wing to see him. He was floating in his rehabilitation tank peacefully. Large bandages wrapped around his stomach and shoulder. I put my forehead against the glass and wished with every fiber of my being that he would wake up and be alright.

* * *

(Abe's POV)

I opened my eyes to be blinded by the white lights of the medical wing. From a clock across the room I ascertained that the time was approximately 10 o'clock at night. My shoulder and chest were tightly bandaged as well as sore and I recalled the incident involving Luke earlier this morning. I was instantly worried on how Adriana was doing, but since there were no occupied beds around me I assumed she must be alright. _Or she's dead_ said a small voice in the back of my head. I shook the thought out of my head, insisting to myself that that couldn't be true.

I heard the door to the medical wing open and close. Trying to sense who it was; I was shocked. It couldn't be her; she had died in my arms!

Princess Nuala stepped in front of the window to my rehabilitation chamber.

"It has been a while, Abraham, and it would seem that you have gotten yourself quite badly injured." She said, her ethereal beauty just as I remembered.

"Um, yes, a minor accident while trying to defend a colleague. How on earth are you…?" I was in minor shock, this elf had stabbed herself in the heart and yet here she was standing before me!

She smiled slightly, "Alive? When the conditions are met, my brother and I are resurrected."

"What conditions?"

"Guilty and Innocent blood spilt on the same altar."

"So, those conditions have been met and now you and your brother are alive again, same as before?" This didn't make sense to me, something was amiss, but I knew I could trust Nuala.

She put her hand on the outside of my tank, "It will all be explained if you just come with me. Give me your hand; I will bring you with me."

I had to let Adriana know that I was alright, but surely Nuala couldn't be here to harm me or anyone at the BPRD after how we had helped her. Putting my hand against hers on the glass, there was a flash of light and I was…

* * *

(Adriana's POV)

I awoke fairly early the next day; about 9. Quickly dressing and grabbing some toast from the kitchen, I rushed to the medical wing to see if Abe was awake.

When I walked into the medical wing I could tell something was wrong. There were agents everywhere, examining everything like it was a crime scene. Manning was shouting orders to people and I was now extremely worried. I rushed over to Abe's tank, pushing agents out of the way.

It was empty.

I put my hands on the cool glass as I sat down. _No, he can't be gone… he was just here… he was…_

"Agent Cross, I need to speak with you!" Manning burst me from my thoughts.

I stood up, "Where the hell is Abe?!"

"We are trying to figure that out, now then if you'll just-"

"You don't know where he is?! How could he just up and disappear!?"

"We don't know, we need your cooperation in order to figure that out. I need you, Hellboy and Agent Sherman to remain calm and stay out of the way of the investigation until we require a specific need for you. Is that understood?"

About to choke on my tears I nodded and rushed out of there as quickly as I could. Trying my hardest to keep myself from sobbing in the middle of the hallway, I speed walked to the library. Thankfully finding it empty I let it all out. The hot tears flooded my cheeks as I wailed. I fell to my knees and cried into my hands.

What on earth had I done to deserve this?! Was this God's personal way of punishing me for something? WHY?!

"There, there. Just let it all out." A cool hand rubbed my back sympathetically.

I looked up to find a man kneeling beside me. His skin and hair were ashen white, his eyes golden. He was ethereally handsome, but also terrifying at the same time.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" I shook off his hand and tried not to hiccup.

"I am Prince Nuada, and I let myself in." The name registered, Nuada and Nuala were the elf twins that had both died a month before my arrival at the BPRD. Nuada was the evil one…

I stood up, my powers going into defense mode; swirling colors balled in my hands.

"You're the one who tried to unleash the golden army!" I lunged for the emergency button on the wall. He stopped me.

"I did that yes, but I was killed. The conditions have been met and I have been resurrected, but every resurrection, the essences switch."

"Conditions met? Essences switch? I have no idea what you are talking about!"

"Guilty and Innocent blood has been spilled on the same altar. The essence that made me evil in the past cycle has been switched with the essence that made my sister good in the past cycle. I am now the good one." He carefully let go of my wrist where he had grabbed me.

My mind clicked, "If you're the good one now, then Nuala must be… Do you know where Abe is?"

"Unfortunately it seems that she only told him part of the contract. He believes her to still be trustworthy and has gone with her. I do not know where, but it is of the utmost importance that I assist you."


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey all! Sorry I left you at a cliffhanger back there, I like to keep my chapters at a fairly uniform length of about 10-14 hundred words. So here's the next part! Hope you like it!**

**Also, guys, are you like, all away from your computers or something? Cos I've only gotten two reviews for chapter 15 so far… (special thanks to ****shan karasu**** and ****TheBlueBottle****) Remember: the more you review, the more I write! Btw, I am working on a single chapter story called "the Missing Lemon" which will go into detail on the night Adriana and Abe spent together between chapters 11 and 12. Idk when that will be up, but I'm just giving you a heads up to look for it.**

**On to the story!**

The doors to the library opened behind us and I heard HB pull out his gun and Liz flare her fire.

Jumping in front of Nuada, I shouted, "Wait! He can help us! He knows where Abe is!"

"Why should we trust him? He's the one who tried to destroy all of humanity!" said HB; he obviously hated this man.

"Things are different, Nuada, you explain it to them." I let Nuada cross in front of me.

He gestured for Red to put down his gun, but with no success he began anyway, "The conditions necessary to revive my sister and I have been met. Guilty and Innocent blood has been spilled on the same altar. With each reincarnation cycle, the two essences switch vessels. That which made me evil in the past cycle has been traded with the one that made my sister good. She is the evil one now."

Liz was skeptical, "And why should we believe you?"

"Because your friend, Abraham, does not know of this and went willingly with Nuala. He is her captive, yet he does not know it. I know places where they may be hidden. And why on earth would I come here unless there was something I wanted to help with or there was something I needed? I assure you it is not the latter."

Liz extinguished her flames and managed to coax HB to put his gun away.

Red walked up to Nuada, intending to try and intimidate him, "So, if you're so knowledgeable, where's Abe?"

"She has most likely taken him back to Bethmoora. The goblins will build another crown, but only with the proper payment."

I was worried now, "What kind of payment?"

"They require the blood of two lovers and the mark of an element."

I thought hard. If they took Abe for the blood of two lovers, they would have taken me too… wouldn't they? As for the mark of an element, he was an icthyo sapien, so that could count as a mark of water…

"Ok, before we get too carried away, we need to let Manning know about this. We're at least gonna need the BPRD's resources and it'd be better if we got his permission." Liz said.

I groaned at the thought of Manning trying to help us but we needed to rescue Abe and advert disaster.

As Red, Liz and Nuada headed for the conference room, I told them I would catch up. Climbing the small spiral staircase, I walked into Abe's room. Instantly I was engulfed in his scent. I lay down on the bed and inhaled deeply, the smell of both him and me still lingering from three nights ago.

Getting up, I hesitated, lingering in the quiet room; little reminders of him almost making me think everything was normal. I reluctantly walked back down the spiral stairs and to the conference room.

I had to rescue Abe.

* * *

(Abe's POV)

Nuala guided me to a small chamber with many strange bottles on shelves. Taking off my bandages carefully, she rubbed a sort of ointment on my wounds. Within a minute, they had completely closed up and no longer hurt. I smiled, "Thank you, your highness."

"Please Abraham; you may call me Nuala if you wish."

"Yes, Nuala, I am just wondering why you brought me here?"

"My brother wishes to have the goblins create another crown to lead the golden army, but they need the proper payment. I wanted to keep you safe from him." She turned her back to me and messed with some bottles, but I could tell something was up.

"Then why did you take me with you instead of just warning me and the B.P.R.D.? That would have been much easier."

"My brother has his ways of finding people; we are safe here because of a spell I was able to cast over this portion of the cave."

"So nobody can find us?" I was a bit wary now, but surely Nuala only meant to help me.

Turning back towards me she smiled, "Not unless they possess a strong bond with you, I cast it with you as the basis."

My thoughts immediately went to Adriana. Did she know I was alright? Was she looking for me? I was certain of the latter; she would stop at nothing until she found me.

But I was safe anyway, so it didn't really matter much… Nuala was here protecting me.

* * *

(Adriana's POV)

Manning had pissed me off enough and I wasn't going to let him get to me this time. Easier said than done…

"I don't see why we should go on the word of an… elf creature… who was our enemy in order to rescue one of our best agents!"

"You heard Nuada; he can lead us to Abe and help get around his sister!" Liz stood up and slammed her fist on the table.

I stood too, "Manning, I don't know what is your problem but Abe has goddamn Stockholm Syndrome* and I am not about to let Nuala kill him! Either you help us, or we go without you and take all the supplies we need."

He looked smug, "Exactly how do you intend to do that without my help? How on earth will you get the agents necessary, not to mention a plane and cars and…"

Meyers stood up, "Sir, I've already got some agents organizing teams and equipment, so if you aren't coming with us we should leave pretty soon."

I beamed at him, I'd have to do him a favor later…

With Meyers and Agent Kraus' help, we got an airplane and a couple teams of volunteer agents to go to the Giant's Causeway and the entrance to Bethmoora.

Climbing aboard the airplane, Meyers handed me a small semi-automatic gun.

"I can't shoot to save my life, Meyers." I held it out back to him.

He pushed my hand away, "Hang onto it, just in case. You'll also need this."

I held out my hand and he gave me a small set of rosary beads. Thanking him, I found a seat alone on the plane.  
Examining the small cross on the string of beads I sighed. I wasn't one for religion, having been raised agnostic I generally abstained from any sort of religious practices.

Though for the first time ever, I prayed to whatever the hell made us, be it god or science, and hoped that Abe would be safe.

**No I am not turning this religious! Like Adriana, I am agnostic and only celebrate xmas and easter for fun. ALSO- my picture on my page is a cool looking screenshot of the iTunes visualizer. It is essentially what Adriana's powers are supposed to look like.**

_**REVIEW!**_


	17. Chapter 17

**New Chapter! Sorry it's been forever since I updated! And I left you all hanging too! Sorry about that… here's an update for you. OMG guess what else! July 3****rd**** was the one year anniversary of my publishing this story! Crazy huh? **

(Abe's POV)

I awoke in a luxurious bed. The room was a beautiful royal blue with golden accents. Nuala came into the room carrying a tray of various breakfast foods.

"I take it you slept well, Abraham?" Her ethereal smile left me breathless.

"Um, yes, thank you." My mind suddenly flashed to a dream I'd had, but I couldn't quite recall who was in it… my mind flipped through a list of people from the B.P.R.D. when I suddenly realized that I had been dreaming about Adriana! I felt a wave of panic; she had no idea where I was! In fact, nobody did! I suddenly questioned why Nuala had brought me here in the first place.

"Is something on your mind?" Nuala said innocently, her eyes bright.

I looked at her. Surely she wasn't keeping anything from me, was she?

"May I touch your hand, Nuala?" It sounded like a strange question coming out of my mouth but it was the only way to find out the truth.

She looked very conflicted as she slowly held out her hand to mine.

As our skin touched I was overcome by a wave of sinister thoughts. She had left out a part of what it meant for her and her brother to be resurrected! She was the one who wanted to bring back the golden army! I flinched away. I remembered her saying that there was a spell cast over where we were and that only someone very close to me could get through. My mind jumped to Adriana. It seemed she was my only hope.

The look on Nuala's face was that of anger, "Abraham! How could you! You forgot me and became enamored of a mere human girl? I took you from your organization in order to save you when I finally released the golden army so that you and I could live in a world without the humans whose hearts have turned black!"

This made me angry, "You were dead Nuala! Did you want me to just mope about for the rest of my life? Adriana means everything to me now! And you didn't just take me so that you could 'save me' as you put it; you did it to lure Red, Liz and Adriana here so that you could use their blood to get the goblins to make a new crown!" I reached to my belt where my gun was supposed to be but found nothing. It was then that Nuala smiled and I truly feared for the lives of all of my friends.

She dashed to the door and I reached it just as she locked me inside. Slumping down with my back against it, I mentally kicked myself for not realizing this sooner.

(Adriana's POV)

I'd had Liz recite everything that transpired once she, Red and Abe had gone into Bethmoora the last time they were here nearly twenty times during the plane ride. I had a pretty good mental image of it, but that did not prepare me for what I saw when we reached the entrance and Nuada whistled to let us in. The gigantic rock creature that loomed before us was breathtaking, but we severely needed to focus on our mission. I stayed close behind Nuada, as he knew the place best.

We turned a few corners and walked a long time but I noticed a strange rock that kept reappearing around the corner, "I have a feeling we're lost."

Nuada looked around, concentrating, "I can tell that they are nearby, but they could be anywhere within about a half-mile radius."

"Should we split up then?" HB asked.

Liz shot him down, "Remember how things went the last time we split up? We should stick together."

I nodded, remembering the incident in the cave…

We continued walking through the catacombs, each passing moment ebbing away at my confidence.

"Hey what's that place?" I inquired, pointing towards a strange round structure that had a distinct lack of decay.

Liz's eyes lit up, "I remember this! This is where the Angel of Life and Death lives! Maybe it can tell us where Abe is?"

"We might as well ask seeing as we have no alternative." Nuada agreed.

Red grumbled, "Fine… but somebody else better do the talking."

The four of us cautiously walked into the seemingly empty candlelit rotunda.

"Hello?" I called as we continued walking to the center.

"Adriana Cross, Elizabeth Sherman, Anung Un Rama and Prince Nuada." A strange voice came from behind us.

We turned to see the wonder that was the Angel of Life and Death.

"What is it you seek?" It asked, head tilting.

"Abraham Sapien."

The Angel leant down near to my face, "Why, my child?"

"Because he is in danger and I… I am obligated to rescue him."

The Angel shook its head, "That is not the only reason, Adriana Cross. The power that took the place of your previous ability saw great potential in you. Your destiny is intertwined with Abraham Sapien's. The path is dangerous and only avoidable by not saving Abraham. Do you wish to know his location?"

I thought for a split second, took a deep breath and replied, "Yes."

"Princess Nuala has hidden him. Only one close to him, such as yourself, would be able to find him and break the seal."

"Thank you." I smiled.

"Elizabeth Sherman and Anung Un Rama."

Liz and Red's heads snapped up.

"Yeah?" said HB.

"The seed of the key will bring calm and turbulence, safety and danger, light and dark. Be weary."

With that, the Angel was gone.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean?" Red said.

"Whatever, we need to focus on finding Abe." I said with renewed determination.

Departing the Angel of Life and Death's abode, Nuada directed us towards a tunnel that he recognized.

We walked down the corridor and came to a fork.

"So that angel thing said that only someone close to Abe can find him. Adriana?" Red said.

I raised my eyebrows, "You honestly think I'll just _know_ where he is?"

"The Angel said this is the case, yes." Nuada said.

"Well what am I supposed to do? Just, follow my gut?"

"I dunno! The Angel is never specific!" Liz snapped, then muttered, "Sorry… hormones and all…"

"Ok, then… we'll go this way?" I questioned and pointed to the path on the right.

Everyone else looked puzzled, "There isn't a path that way… there's boulders there." Red said.

"What? You guys just saw this fork in the road!"

"Whatever, Adriana, lets go." Liz said as the group continued to the left.

I went to the right.

**VERY VERY IMPORTANT! GO TO MY PROFILE PAGE AND READ THE LARGE BLURB AT THE TOP! IT IS AN EXPLANATION FOR WHY I WILL NOT BE UPDATING ANY OF MY STORIES FOR A YEAR!**

**Also: Only 4 people reviewed chapter 16! That means only 16% of the people who watch this story have reviewed! Come on people! Get it together! (Special thanks to lighttan117, TheBlueBottle, Peya Luna, and lady of the wilds!)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey folks, so the Germany thing didn't work out and I've been home for a while now but I'm lazy and haven't written another chapter until I watched a Hellboy animated feature (sword of storms) and had renewed inspiration! I was annoyed during the whole abe-kissing-liz-underwater-to-give-her-air thing though…**

(Adriana's POV)

It was pitch black around the next bend in the tunnel. I couldn't find the flashlight from my belt, so I followed along the wall with my hand.

The tunnel felt like it was curving to the left ever so slightly.

Then I saw a light up ahead. Rushing towards it, I noticed a door, lit by a single, ethereal lamp.

On the door was a piece of paper that appeared vacuum sealed to the crack between the two halves of the door. On the paper were some scribbles or characters from some language.

I used my fingernail to rip the paper in two so I could open the door. As soon as my finger had finished ripping, a large whoosh of air came from between the crack.

_That must've been the seal the angel was talking about… not much for security I guess…_

I opened the doors to find a well lit hallway that looked like one I'd seen on a white house tour way back in elementary school save for one thing; there were no doors.

The hallway appeared to go on forever, but there was not a single door in sight.

There were paintings, and curtained windows, and little sculptures on fancy tables, but no doors. I walked to the first window and peered out.

It was just white light, nothing behind it at all.

I continued, not bothering to look at the obviously priceless artifacts around me.

Finally I came to a split in the hallway, and finally I reached a door.

_Walking blindly through a door probably isn't the best plan…_ I thought to myself.

I sighed, "Fuck it." And walked through the door.

I gasped.

(Abe's POV)

I felt a sudden release of mental pressure, as if someone had pulled a plug keeping everything around wherever I was out. I could sense hundreds of goblins; I sifted through their presences, looking for any sort of sign of rescue.

Then, like a lone star in a black night sky, I found her. I could feel Adriana. I could feel her love, her determination. But I could also feel her fear. Something was happening. I immediately sensed Nuala, her presence dark and cold.

I could only hope for Adriana's safety from here.

(Adriana's POV)

Before me was a large throne room, like that of a palace. The gilded columns rose at least three stories above my head. A single shimmering golden throne sat in the middle, and atop it sat a woman.

_Nuala._

I marched forward, down the long hallway to stand at the base of a few stairs leading up to the throne. Nuala looked at me with pale golden eyes, unfeeling and harsh.

"So, you must be the Human I have heard so much about." She said.

I glared, "So, you must be the elf-girl I've heard so much about."

"Hm." She smiled coldly, "And what brings you to my chambers, Human?"

My anger was starting to get the best of me, "You know damn well, Nuala."

"Give me your hand, girl, and I shall see what you speak of."

I knew this was dangerous, but I was on her land now. Her land, her rules.

I had to play along if I was to find Abe.

Taking off my glove, I placed my hand on top of her outstretched one. I could instantly feel her within my mind, quickly sifting through every memory and thought I'd ever had.

When she was finished, she let go of me and turned to her throne.

"He has betrayed me."

"Your brother? Oh yeah, he was loads of help." I said, "But wouldn't you have known he was going to be against you?"

"Not my brother! My Abraham!" She turned to me, a mixture of anger and sorrow torn across her face, "You! It is your fault! If you had not seduced him I would not have to imprison him here!"

My powers started acting up, ethereal colors beginning to swirl around my clenched fists.

I walked up the steps and said right in her face, "No. You're wrong. You died. And now you only want Abe to lure our team here so you can re-awaken the Golden Army!"

Her golden gaze pierced through my façade of confidence.

Out of the million folds in her deep crimson dress, she pulled out a sword.

With deadly speed she began to attack me, left, right, above below. I blocked as much as I could with my powers.

She stopped, the blade inches from my face and my back pressed against one of the pillars. I took the moment.

My powers surged, hitting her the same way she had tried to hit me. She caught my final offense on the tip of her sword. I pushed with my mind, bending the sword in half.

I smiled. She smiled. I frowned.

Jumping back, I readied myself for her next attack. She pulled a dagger from her dress and began jumping and running past me lightening quick. I created a shield, but I had weak endurance and my control over my powers was running low.

Suddenly, from another doorway burst Liz, Red and Nuada.

"C'mon, we've got to help her!" Liz said, hands ablaze.

Nuada held them back, "This is her fight."

"How are we supposed to get rid of the two of you so that neither will come back, no matter what?" HB asked.

Nuada gazed out at his sister in battle, "We have to kill each other at the same time."

Without warning, Nuala had knocked me to the ground. She somehow lengthened the dagger into a complete sword and was just about to bring it down through my chest.

There was a flash of white and I expected pain. Looking up, I realized that Nuada had jumped in front of me at the last moment. As Nuala stabbed him instead, he stabbed her with his own sword.

Both gasped, golden blood trickled from their wounds.

"Oh my god! Nuada what are you doing!" I jumped up.

The twins were beginning to turn into ivory.

"No, this is the only way we can ensure neither of us are resurrected." He smiled sadly, "Go find your beloved."

Then there was silence.

I stood up slowly as Red and Liz rushed over.

"Are you alright?"

"Where were you?"

"I didn't know you were so good in combat!"

"Do you know where Abe is?"

I held up my hands, "Stop, stop! I'm fine! We need to go find Abe."

The three of us rushed back through the door I came through into the long empty hallway.

"Now what? Which way do we go?" HB grumbled.

I pointed left, "This way." I began to run in that direction. The two others didn't question my decision.

We hurried along until we found another hallway splitting off from the long one. This one was made entirely of rough-cut stone. We continued cautiously, looking for any sign of Abe.

I found an ornately designed door wedged between two large boulders.

"This has got to be it." I whispered.

I pulled on the door. Beyond it was a beautiful bedroom, with glorious wall carvings. On the floor, in the corner, leaning up against the wall, he sat.

"Abe…" I whispered, a flood of relief washing through me.

Liz and Red waited in the doorway as he and I rushed to each other.

"Abe! I was so worried! You were hurt and then you disappeared!" I hugged him tightly; tears of sadness and happiness streaming down my face.

He tilted my head up towards him, wiping away the tears with his cool hands.

I looked deeply into his midnight-blue eyes. He leaned in and kissed me.

**Yay! Don't worry, this is definitely NOT the end of this story! It just might be a bit before I update it again…**

**Please please please review!**


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